Visiting the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington

[jeezifonly]

The war memorials that, in some way, represent combat, honor the glory of war and victory. The Vietnam Memorial wall makes plain the forever human cost. 

[Old Blue]

Exactly.  The “forever human cost” is precisely what overwhelmed my emotions when—two decades later—I  I saw my friends’ names on the wall.

[+ claym]

On 11/28/2024 at 11:24 PM, jeezifonly said:

The war memorials that, in some way, represent combat, honor the glory of war and victory. The Vietnam Memorial wall makes plain the forever human cost. 

Wow.  Eloquent, simple, and heart-tugging.  Thanks.

[+ Lucky]

I wonder what how similar thread about AIDS Day might look like. We certainly lost more people then than we did in Vietnam, not to undermine those losses.

[+ WilliamM]

As .uch as I enjoy reading about the memorial ,   This Vietnam vet remembers my friendfs who  survived lifke Jim  amd Dennis 

 

To be fair, I   there were more than just a few gay officers  in my time in Vietnam.  They were obviously  gay 

[harlow]

Three military memorials I encourage everyone to visit at least once in their lives are the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, The Korean War Memorial and the USS Arizona….all three are extremely moving. 

[Nightowl]

A friend and I were wandering around DC one night a year or two after the memorial was finished and we headed toward some bright lights that we saw in the distance.  It turned out to be the Vietnam memorial.  We wandered over to the lights and saw the memorial brightly illuminated with men in fatigue jackets sitting along the top of the wall, the memorial area itself crowded with people making impressions of names and leaving boots, photos, and other mementos at the foot of the memorial.  We had forgotten it was Veterans Day. The sight of those veterans who had lost compatriots and the families of the men whose lives had been lost was the most moving experience I have ever had. I’ll never forget it.

[Nightowl]

On 12/4/2024 at 2:23 PM, harlow said:

Three military memorials I encourage everyone to visit at least once in their lives are the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, The Korean War Memorial and the USS Arizona….all three are extremely moving. 

I couldn’t agree more!