The Wall

After watching the film, "The Deer Hunter" in 1979, Vietnam veteran Jan C Scrugs first conceived of the idea for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  A Yale Architectural student, Maya Lin, submitted the winning design."The Wall" was built in Constitution Gardens in Washington, D.C., through private donations from the public and dedicated in 1982

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Although no one is buried at the Memorial, it is hallowed ground.  Everyone who visits is emotionally affected. Many people go to the capital of this nation and make a pilgrimage to pay homage to a solemn place that lies in the shadow of the city.  A "Black Granite Wall" with rows and rows of names carved in the stone.  Each name belongs to a face and every face has a story   Each story will touch the deepest part of you ,  Stories filled with despair, grief, lost hopes and vanquished dreams.

                                                             

On  " The Wall" there are markings next to each name.  A diamond next to the name means the person was killed-In- Action.  A cross indicates the soldier is Missing-In-Action.  If a lost soldier is repatriated dead or alive, the cross is circled.When will we finally circle the Cross of the 1300 men still listed as Missing from Vietnam, including my father, Colonel O'Grady?

                                     

                                                                   " The Wall"                     

                                                      By:  Catherine Anne McNeil
  

I walked along that long black wall, with names as far as I could see. Friends I knew in childhood now etched in memories. .I've touched their names so many times, remembered them with love.I walk along, the rain pours down, tears from heaven above.

I watch a Vet, deep in thought, pain across his face.He walks a mother to the wall; he's taken his friend's place.She reaches out to touch a name, the one that was her son.They pause together in the rain, their memories a bond.

The men who fought, the men who died, their names for all to see. Their lives so brief, fallen short, a page in history.We can't forget what they had done, so many years ago.Sacrifices they have made the bravery they showed.

I walked along that long black wall, crying in the rain.For all those men who've touched our lives, we'll never see again.

28 May 2000

       

                                    

                                                                                                                   

 Written By:  Michael S. Viehem

Brothers........

You will go to THE Wall soon...... 
I will be there only in spirit this time. 

The Wall has a long reach...... 
longer than its length... 
higher than its height... 
The Wall can reach into your soul... 
I know......

I had a guide when I went there... 
He will be with you.

It's easy to think of your Brothers 
named on that black granite slab..... 
as you knew them way back then...... 
It's only natural..

They aren't like that anymore..... 
but...they ARE there.... 
58,000+ Spirits of our dead Brothers live there --- 
and in the whole universe - and beyond. 

They are freed of the chains 
of hurt and sorrow that bind us so. 

I died once - fact, no posing...... 
I can tell you our Brothers hold no grudge...... 
I can tell you that our Brothers are at peace...... 
I know...I was part way there. 

You will feel anguish and sorrow... 
rightly so... 

It is sorrow for what is past... 
Our Brothers feel it no more.

The peace that we all long for 
is truly already theirs.

They wish the same for their Brothers 
that they left behind - you and me.... 
Not the peace of death.....not yet - 
but the peace of understanding.

We will be together sooner than we can imagine. 
The Spirits at the Wall know this..... 
I figure they look forward to it.... 
but all in good time....

If we've been left behind, 
it's because we still have a mission. 
May the Spirits of your Brothers at the Wall 
help you find your mission - your reason for being. 

You/we lived - for luck or reason - 

I think our Brothers know the reason. 

I swear to you, my Brothers..... 
when you touch that Wall..... 
*Your* long lost Brothers... 
will reach into your soul with healing.... 

Accept it - for you & for them... 
It is all that they want of you. 
It is all they want for you....