Should never have been a reason for that wall.

I’m sure those named were listed with total, honest reverence, the greatest respect, and sadness, even heartache.

But still…




It’s hard to pick which pain is biggest:
The moms, who ALL remember those hours in that maternity ward;
The widows - I can’t even begin to imagine the intensity of their heartbreak;
The children of those lost, who will never know that departed parent;
The dads who’d been so proud;
Anybody who had a memory of one of those guys, from school or the neighborhood or a first job…

I guess this is what is meant by “a world of hurt”.

It was about a ten years after it was dedicated, spring of 1992 I think. If that's right, then I was 31.

The people killed in that war that I knew about were generally "once removed" -- friends of friends who were older than me, so I had no great personal loss to mourn there.

I'm not sure what it was that finally undid me. The seemingly endless list of names? The mementos? Photos, cigars, dog tags left at the base of the wall?

It was all so much. But I think what started my tears was a little pooh bear, clearly well-used by a child who was later lost. I had to walk away because my crying was becoming almost hysterical, and what right did I have to such reaction? None of my nearest and dearest were on that wall.

I cried uncontrollably for so, so long. I will never quite understand why I lost it so, but that wall is so, so powerful a reminder of precious lives lost.

It felt like the grief came from the pit of my soul.

❤️

They should draft old politicians first.

Two of my high school classmates are also on the wall.

You carried our grief too.

Grief is a messy soup today.

The 58,318 honored on the The Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Loss of more than 50 million allied forces and civilians in WWII, including about 420,000 Americans.

Loss of the national soul I believed our part of the alliance against fascism in WWII was all about. (May we yet redeem ourselves)

Personal losses that have nothing to do with war. DUer's like elleng and William Rivers Pitt, dear friends Karyn Altman (KaryinMiami) and Andy Stephenson, and the love of my life Dusty Kiegel (Senator)

is forever burned into my brain


photo by John Moore - Memorial Day 2007