Tribute

For those out there who don't know me, let me tell you a well-known fact about myself - I LOVE Washington D.C. It's one of the most fascinating places on earth to me. And no matter how many times I go, I'll never be bored. I do love it.

So today as I was reading through past events on this date I came across the fact that back in 1982 the Vietnam Memorial was dedicated up in D.C. Not a coincidence, I'm sure, that it falls right around Veterans Day.

Anyway, so I did a little Wikipedia research and found out the following about the memorial:

The Memorial Wall is made up of three black granite walls 246 feet, 9 inches long, designed by Maya Ying Lin. The walls are sunk into the ground, with the top flush with the earth behind them. At the highest tip, they are 10.1 feet high, and they taper to a height of eight inches at their extremities. Granite for the wall came from Bangalore, India and was deliberately chosen because of its reflective quality. All cutting and fabrication was done in Barre, Vermont. When a visitor looks upon the wall, his or her reflection can be seen simultaneously with the engraved names, which is meant to symbolically bring the past and present together. One wall points toward the Washington Monument, the other in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial. Each wall has 72 panels, 70 listing names (numbered 1E through 70E and 70W through 1W) and 2 very small blank panels at the extremities. There is a pathway along the base of the Wall, where visitors may walk, read the names, make a pencil rubbing of a particular name, or pray. Some people leave sentimental items there for their deceased loved ones, which are stored at the Museum and Archeological Regional Storage Facility, with the exception of miniature American flags.

Inscribed on the wall with the Optima typeface are the names of servicemen who either died or remained classified as missing in action when the wall was constructed in 1982. They are listed in chronological order, starting at the apex on panel 1E in 1959, moving day by day to the end of the eastern wall at panel 70E, which ends on May 25, 1968, starting again at panel 70W at the end of the western wall which completes the list for May 25, 1968, and returning to the apex at panel 1W in 1975. Symbolically, this is described as "wound that is closed and healing." Information about rank, unit, and decorations are not given. The wall listed 58,159 names when it was completed in 1993; as of 2005, when the most recent four names were added, there are 58,249 names, including 8 women. Approximately 1,200 of these are listed as missing (MIAs, POWs, and others), denoted with a cross; the confirmed dead are marked with a diamond. If the missing return alive, the cross is circumscribed by a circle, (although this has never occurred as of August 2005); if their death is confirmed, a diamond is superimposed over the cross. According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund "there is no definitive answer to exactly how many, but there could be as many as 38 names of personnel who survived, but through clerical errors, were added to the list of fatalities provided by the Department of Defense."

I know - that's a lot of facts to digest - but it barely even describes how the wall looks when you're there in front of it. Many people hated the design when it was unveiled and still feel it looks oddly out of place or "like a giant gash in the ground," but the fact remains that it's a place for civilians and veterans alike to go and reflect on the sacrifices made by those who served.

Even those who don't feel gun-ho patriotic or agree with current military involvement, it's a place of respect and should be appreciate for what it represents.

So there's your history lesson for today. And if you want to learn more about it - like the Woman's Memorial and the Three Soldiers (both part of the memorial that aren't part of the wall) go to Wikipedia's page about the site and learn a little more. It's pretty neat.