My father was an Army surgeon during the Vietnam war. I've only seen my dad cry twice in his life, once at the funeral of my grandmother, the other time when he told me about Memorial Day 1968. He was in a room with so many wounded men that he was up to his waist in blood, trying to save them all. I've asked him many times to come see the Vietnam memorial, or to make the Memorial weekend ride to it, but he can't do it. There are too many names of honorable men he tried to save on the memorial itself, and the emotion he feels when he thinks about it is overwhelming. As the son of a man who served his Country and lived with the pain and loss and hope of all the men he cared for, I will not stand by and see this memorial desecrated. I will not stand by and watch left wing activists use it as a springboard to make political statements. If my dad can't be there to protect it, then I will be, in his place and with his honor in my heart. I make this pledge to all of those who have served, and all of those who rest on that wall.