A couple of weeks ago, our town had the privilege of hosting the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. Our local American Legion post, which we are members of, had a big hand in bringing this to our town, so we made plans to attend the opening ceremony. My mom wanted to locate a few people’s names she knew on the Wall. When I was 11, I saw the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., on a family vacation. I remember how emotional it was for many people visiting that day and seeing so many names.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall
When we arrived, there was a brief ceremony thanking the sponsors and introducing some people who had helped bring the Wall to our city. A speaker from the State Department of Veteran’s Affairs also briefly described the services offered to veterans.
When everyone had spoken, they asked all of the Vietnam Veterans in attendance to stand. It was at this point I got emotional. I had been used to seeing these men in our community stand at various functions over the years of being in the American Legion Auxiliary since I was eight years old. However, these men suddenly looked so much older, and they are. I guess in my mind, these men, most of whom I knew, would stay the way I always remembered them from my younger days.
The Wall was impressive. It wrapped around a large section of the expo center it was set up in. There was a book at the front where you could go up and ask someone to find a name. They would locate it and point you in the right direction to a panel on the Wall where it was located. They provided small slips of paper and large pencils if you wanted to do a rubbing of a name. My mom was able to find the names of some people she went to school with and also the former spouse of a family member. The Teen did the rubbings of the names for her.
The names went on and on, and it was just a sobering reminder that these men and women, many of them drafted fresh out of high school, gave their very lives for service to their country. They never got to do the things many of us take for granted, like get married, start a family, and spoil grandchildren. I’d be willing to bet that if you were alive back then, you knew someone somehow affected by this war. I learned so much from listening to the speakers and reading the different sections of The Wall. It prompted me to do a little research on my own afterward.
This memorial also came with tributes to all of the other men and women who have given their lives in other operations since Vietnam.
There was even one dedicated to all of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. They had what remained of a charred fireman’s helmet from that day.
I felt immense respect for those who gave their lives and those who came home, undoubtedly forever changed. If I’m honest, I also felt a great deal of anger and disappointment at how these veterans were received when they returned home. I know everyone has their own opinion about this, but that’s where I land on things. While we were leaving, we spotted this sticker on the back of the truck that hauls the trailer carrying the Traveling Wall:
I couldn’t agree more. The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is worth seeing if you get the chance.
Thank you for sharing your experience of going to this exhibit. What a very moving tribute to all those who sacrificed so much.
How wonderful. Thank you for sharing this, my friend.
Great post, Mandy. I was born in 1960 and remember listening to the nightly news. War had never been portrayed like that. We got to see it up close on our TVs and they did a daily list of casualties. That kind of thing sits with a kid. My dad served in Korea and died young of cancer that would be totally curable these days. His unit left out for Vietnam the day he was buried. I think that was one reason I loved that book The Women by Kristin Hannah. After reading I realized she was 10 days younger than me. She nailed the time period. AND no soldier who was called up should ever be treated like those men were. They were cream!!!
That’s great y’all had this and to bring awareness to the next generations. I have seen this in DC, but didn’t realize they had this. What a sobering, impressive sight.
What a moving thing to see. Sobering to see all those names, I really like that sticker on the back of the trailer.
I got to see the traveling wall several years ago when it came to Ft. Benjamin Harrison here in my town. It is very sobering to see. So sad, and very humbling. So many gave all.
To think of all the lives lost over ALL the wars is such a sad thing.
God bless them all.
I didn’t realize there was a traveling wall. What a good thing to remind us of the sacrifices that have been made for us. I have seen the original Wall, and it is quite a sobering experience -especially as you observe the emotions it brings to others.