'The Wall' honors Vietnam vets for 20 years

Air Force Link ^ | 11/07/02 | Unknown

[SAMWolf]

'The Wall' honors Vietnam vets for 20 years

Thousands will gather at the National Mall in the coming days to witness and participate in ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The weeklong remembrance began with a musical tribute to Vietnam veterans Nov. 6 and will end with a Veterans Day observance Nov. 11. In between, more than 1,000 volunteers will read the names inscribed on "The Wall," starting at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 7 and ending at midnight Nov. 10.

It is only the third time in The Wall's history that all 58,229 names will be read aloud. Volunteers, each reciting an average of 30 names, will read for about 19 hours each day Nov. 8-10. The full list of names was read in 1982 as part of the memorial's dedication and again in 1992 during activities commemorating the memorial's 10th anniversary.

Master Sgt. Angeline Robinson, the Pentagon's vice president of the Washington Area Top 3, will attend a reading for the second time, although this will be her first as a participant. She attended The Wall's 10th anniversary reading, and obtained a "wall rubbing" on behalf of her boss at the time, Adm. David E. Jeremiah, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The name of Jeremiah's nephew was one of those being read.

"When I remembered that, this year's reading became very significant to me," she said. "I decided to participate because it's a way to honor those who went before us."

Thirty-four Air Force members from the Washington Area Top 3 will read 540 names, beginning at 11:24 p.m. Nov. 8.

"It's a way for us to give back," Robinson said. "It's as simple as that."

For some, though, the symbolism of reading the names on The Wall goes deeper. One of those is Bao Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American who was once jailed by the North Vietnamese, later served as a South Vietnamese Army officer, and currently works at the Pentagon on the Air Force Chief Information Officer's staff.

"Each year (on Veterans Day), I have a need to express my gratitude to all American veterans in general, all the Vietnam veterans in particular, and to the more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for their sacrifices to defend the freedom of a people in a place they hardly knew," Nguyen said. "(And it's) not just me alone. Overseas, Vietnamese are forever grateful for those sacrifices."

For more information on the 20th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Web site

[MistyCA]

You are always welcome here! Thanks for sharing that post with us. You have a mighty fine dad whom I know you are very proud of! :)

[MistyCA]

Hi Jinx! Good to see you and thanks for sharing that experience here. One day I hope to be able to come here and post about my experience at the Wall in Washington. It must be awesome. thanks again.

[rangersdaughter]

Thanks, Misty.

He's awesome and brave and courageous...even if he's pigheaded and uninformed on some issues. LMAO

Thanks for the warm welcome.

A VERY proud Rangersdaughter.

Ahhh, finally found the right thread! :-p

[MistyCA]

Fantastic! Welcome aboard! :) You might ask Sam to add you to his ping list so that you can take this journey with us. :)

Cheers to our VETS!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Misty, good to see you too.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for your post rangersdaughter. Spoind like someone is real proud of Dad. I'm sure Dad is very proud of his daughter.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for sharing your experinece, HiJinx. I know if I ever get there I will be crying the whole time. I must just be getting old and having a harder time controlling my emotions.

[HiJinx]

Oh, Little One, how could you do that?

That brought back so many emotions, but did you read the guest article? To have actually been there and then come to the memorial to see the names of people you knew...

Darn, gotta get my monitor de-blurred!

[SAMWolf]

Spoind? What was I thinking? LOL

Spoind = Sounds

[HiJinx]

Yeah, but you have an excuse...you were there.

I was just a couple of years too young. I looked for extended family members, but found none. I didn't know anyone in High School who went. It's only been in later years that I realized how much of an impact that war had on us.

[MistyCA]

HI!

[MistyCA]

Hmmmm.....maybe you are just figuring out that it is good to let them out a bit in your "old" age ;) Love ya, Sam!

[MistyCA]

BWAhhhhh.....oops.....sorry Sam. Didn't mean to laugh! :)

[MistyCA]

I am not so sure that is unusual with your age group. I was really surprised by some close friends who were also too young but feel an extraordinary fascination and impact from Vietnam. One friend has a deep desire to research and write about it. Is that really that much different then the deep feelings we all have for Normandy and D-day? Thanks for sharing that. Thanks for keeping those feelings alive for the generation right ahead of you.

[SAMWolf]

I'm having a hard time typing today, something must be wrong with my keyboard.

[SAMWolf]

HiJinx, I don't think it has a lot to do with "being there".

The impact of seeing ove 50,000 names etched there, knowing that wech one represent some ones father, son, brother, etc. has to stagger the mind of anyone who cares about our country.

So many lives cut short, so many others affected.

[HiJinx]

No, it's not that different. And as for the next generation, well!

My boys are both aware of the awesome responsibility that comes with citizenship. They were young, but two tours in Germany showed them that America is different, and well worth fighting for.

It's dinnertime here, so I'm going to take a break. I'll see all of y'all in a little while!

[MistyCA]

Hmmmm......I told you to stop dancing on it! :)

haha..I crack me up! :))) duh!