Thanks for sharing the WWII memorial was just a hole in the ground the last time I was in Washington. It has turned out beautifully
The wall is a very emotional place for me. I was never on land in Viet Nam, but I did spend time on an aircraft carrier (Enterprise) in the Tonkin Gulf. Several of my high school friends went to Viet Nam and one did not return. His name is Benny Moncus and it is on the wall.
My Dad said there's a place to see and do "virtual rubbings" of the names on the Wall...I have yet to check it out...
Mike and I were watching a show on the Vietnam Wall on the Smithsonian channel a few weekends ago; I had to get up and leave...it's very emotional to hear the stories, and I guess because it occurred closer to my generation's time, I know more about it, especially from my father. He knew the draft was coming so he signed up for the Air Force. His father hated that he'd signed up at all, so when he left, he didn't necessarily have the backing of his family
He did lose two close friends while there, and I was born on his birthday while he was in that God-forsaken place...I often think about how I might be telling the story of the Dad I didn't know, but I was born on his birthday...I'm just thankful he did come home, and hate that many Americans spit on him and his fellow troops as they got off the plane...
I had two uncles that were Marines in Vietnam, and one was never the same after he came home...both passed away in recent years, taking what they experienced in Vietnam with them to their graves.
Sorry to go on, it's just an emotional thing and as humbling as it was to walk that WWII memorial, I just know it's going to be tough to hit the Vietnam wall
I want so much to pay my respects, but it's truly emotional...