Vietnam Memorial

Wow, today we visited the Vietnam War memorial. I have seen pictures of it before, but I was impressed with how many names there were on the wall. It was a real moving experience. Most of the time so far on this trip, my friends and I have been joking around non stop, but that changed when we came into the area. We all, without saying it to each other, knew this place deserved our respect. As we walked closer, we saw several booths with people wanting support to find POWs. We talked to one of them and they explained how there are still, right now, American troops being held. As we continued to approach, the silence was very noticeable. There was a statue to recognize the soldiers that fought in the war that made me stare in amazement. We then went on to walk along the wall. We saw a couple of people doing pencil rubbings of names from the wall. It made me think of who that person was. Did they have a parent, brother or sister die in the war? I never had these thoughts or feelings looking at pictures of the memorial.