From the Continuing Annals of Bravery in the Face of Incompetence –   In 1982,  the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington after a march to its site by thousands of veterans of the conflict. The memorial was a departure from the grandiose scale of other war memorials.  It was a simple V-shaped black-granite wall designed by Maya Lin.  The wall was inscribed with the names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the conflict arranged in order of death. Many veterans’ groups opposed Lin’s winning design because it did not include heroic statues or stirring tributes to the fallen.  However, those criticisms quickly fell away after the memorial’s dedication.  The memorial is one of the most visited shrines in D.C. Veterans and friends and relatives of the fallen are seen walking the wall seeking for the names of their friends and loved ones. Visitors frequently make etchings of the names or leave simple tributes such notes, flowers, dog tags or a can of beer.  For a list of Texans killed during the war see http://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-lists/tx-alpha.pdf

The first time I visited the memorial was late on a cold December night in 1995.  My friend and I walked in silence along the length of the memorial both struck by the feelings it invoked even though neither of us served in Vietnam nor really knew many people who did. Even at that late hour, people were there – some crying.  When we reached the Lincoln Memorial there was a makeshift booth manned by a Vietnam veteran selling items to benefit veterans.  We talked with him for a short while and told him that it was our first visit to the memorial.  What I most remember him saying was “I can’t go down there” – down to the memorial even though it was less than 100 yards away. It was just too painful.   I often wonder if he ever walked that long 100 yards.