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4/22/2021 8:49:32 PM
 
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Section 21: Community News Subject: Thoughts on Wall That Heals Msg# 1123573
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I was 14 years old in 1966. Probably 85% of adult men in my neighborhood were WWII veterans. I grew up thinking virtually all men were veterans, certainly just like my father, my uncles and grandfathers and neighbors. My family was split between Army and Navy. My father's cousin killed on Guadalcanal was the only Marine. The men in my family were a hard-drinking, chain- smoking gregarious lot. All were actual combat veterans and I only heard their stories after they had been drinking. Only a couple went to college on the GI bill, most were blue-collar types.
At this time, as 14 year old, I surmised there was something wrong with our President, LBJ. I could never put my finger on it, but even as an adolescent I just didn't like or trust the guy. He scared me, I guess! Prior to all this, when I was 11 years old I witnessed the assassination of JFK and saw firsthand how this tragedy affected EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything that LBJ did after he took office scared me! Most particularly what scared me as a 14 year old was LBJs Vietnam and what he did to the country with it! I learned what college deferments were and what draft dodging was and everything in between! I learned who I looked up to and admired, and those who I thought were really not contributors to our society. For the most part my observations as an adolescent have proved to be true for me and there were MANY observations that made me want to scream. Like the folks that I saw who worked in government, senior executives mind you, who during this time frame joined the Peace Corps to avoid military service. Confusing to say the least.......and those were not isolated incidents! The "Wall" has healed and I hope those that cowered feel bad in their senior years. I'm just the kind of SOB who always asks those several years older than me if they ever served............just to see their reaction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: The Wall That Heals commentary by Joe Reynolds It is an enduring testimonial to the patriotism, honor, and selflessness of 58,276 American heroes who gave their lives for their country and their comrades in arms during the Vietnam War. It is a monument to the greatness within individuals. It is beautiful work of art. It is depressing. It is celebratory. It is black. It is engraved in white letters with those 58,276 names. One was fifteen years old. Eight were women. Forty sets of brothers. Three sets of Father and Son. Average age is under twenty-three. Over 1,500 are unaccounted for. It is The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scaled replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Three hundred and seventy-five feet long. It stands now in our community. In Ocean Pines. Forty-five volunteers showed up Wednesday morning to erect the wall. Driving metal stakes. Carrying and assembling the metal framework. Lugging heavy wall panels the length of a football field. Grueling work. They labored non-stop from early morning until late afternoon. These were not all young, strong individuals. These were predominately seniors. Men and women over sixty. Some well over sixty. One woman appeared on the verge of collapse. Someone grabbed her end of a wall panel. She sat down. Ten minutes later she emerged from the gaping end of the trailer containing the Wall pieces, again carrying one end of another heavy wall panel. They were showing their respect for the devotion and ultimate sacrifice of those who never came home from a war far, far away. No question, this was a labor of love. Of appreciation. For those with names on the wall, and for those who survived and returned to an American populace shamefully not ready to recognize their amazing sacrifice. As a photographer, I photographed the workers’ efforts. Later Wednesday evening, I returned to view and photograph The Wall That Heals in the faint afterglow of dusk merging into night. For a time I was alone with The Wall. The enormity of the individual and family sacrifice stretched out before me in the symbolism of the Wall was overwhelming. Like the universe, it is beyond comprehension. |
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