The Moving Wall

This morning despite the rain, Pete and I made the drive to see the moving wall ~ a half size replica of the Vietnam War Memorial. It was quite moving to see the names of the 58,159 men and women that either lost their lives or went missing during the unpopular Vietnam War. However, it was even more moving to see the number of people gathered at the wall on such a soggy morning, watching the reaction to finding the name of a fallen loved one, and seeing the items left at the moving wall: a bronze star, a hat, letters, flowers, etc.

One of the letters that was left there this morning, seemed especially timely... It was a letter written by an injured Vietnam War soldier to a fallen friend, and it brought tears to my eyes. It was only 3 paragraphs long, and spoke of the soldier's disappointment at acts of Congress preventing the U.S. from achieving a victory in the Vietnam War. It discussed why this injured soldier has kept his promise to never march in a parade.

After visiting this somber memorial, I realize why war tributes are so important, especially for those who fought or lost a loved one. It also made me see why victory is so important to the person's who fight in the war, as it makes it easier to make sense of loss.