Honoring Vietnam veterans: Help us put a face on sacrifice

I hope we can agree on this... read a few of the comments.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/...ntcmp=features


Honoring Vietnam veterans: Help us put a face on sacrifice

By Mark GreenPublished July 14, 2014FoxNews.comFacebook322 Twitter93 livefyre61

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The genius of Maya Lin’s design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial -- “The Wall” -- is the visitor’s overwhelming sense of loss. The names of the dead, on 140 black granite panels, appear infinite in number.

It has been 32 years since The Wall was dedicated. It has become a place of healing, where Americans could separate the sacrifice of the warriors from what had become America’s most unpopular war.

Back then, a young veteran, Jan Scruggs, took $2,000 of his own money and began raising the $8.4 million in private contributions to build what has become one of Washington’s most visited monuments, attracting 4.4 million Americans in 2011 alone, according to the Washington Examiner.

Perhaps you grew up with somebody who died in Vietnam, or knew one of these individuals in school. If so, you can truly honor their sacrifice by taking a moment to look through your old photos and yearbooks.

Scruggs has now embarked on a new effort, one that will enable future generations to fully appreciate the sacrifice of those who gave their lives. Scruggs’ idea is to put faces to the names at a new Education Center that will be located between The Wall and the Lincoln Memorial.

The Education Center, Scruggs hopes, will be a place where visitors will be able to remember these 58,300 men and women for what they were -- living, breathing human beings, not just names carved into black granite.

The Education Center will display some of the more than 100,000 items that loved ones have placed at The Wall over the last three decades -- some touching, some funny, all deeply personal.

The Center will include a multimedia presentation where, organizers hope, visitors will be able to learn more about our fallen and all they sacrificed when they gave their lives.

Scruggs is no stranger to formidable tasks, but he’s come upon an obstacle that few would have predicted.

It has now been nearly four decades since the last American died in the Vietnam War, and photographs of the fallen are getting very difficult to find. Of the 58,300 who gave their lives, organizers have been able to locate about 36,000. Unless the others are found, the faces of these brave Americans may be lost to history, forever.

Throughout the nation, in attics, scrapbooks and yearbooks, there are photographs of each of the 58,300 young men and women who died all too soon, in our name.

These brave men and women grew up in the Kodak generation. There were snapshots taken at sporting events, proms, graduations, holidays and birthday parties; home movie cameras lovingly filmed them as they opened their presents, enjoyed family barbecues, worked on their cars or ran with their dogs.

There are 1,295 Tennesseans whose names are inscribed on The Wall. I am grateful that my Tennessee Senate colleagues have joined the mission to locate the remaining 699 photos. I hope my fellow state legislators across the country will do the same in their states.

These are the photographs and films that, organizers hope, will give our children a glimpse into the lives of the names on The Wall -- a window into all they left behind.

Perhaps you grew up with somebody who died in Vietnam, or knew one of these individuals in school. If so, you can truly honor their sacrifice by taking a moment to look through your old photos and yearbooks.

If you are able to locate snapshots of a soldier who lost his or her life in Vietnam, please visit the website of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, www.vvmf.org, to submit the photo.

Your long-forgotten snapshot might ensure that generations to come will remember your friend or relative as more than just one of an infinite number of names.


Dr. Mark Green, M.D., a decorated special operations flight surgeon, is a member of the Tennessee State Senate.

Credit where credit is due! Thanks IIFFY for a very good thread!

I have been to The Wall numerous times. I have a few regular names that I will always visit. I didn't realize that there were so many individuals who were reportedly killed whose names were not included on the wall.

I can only recall being unable to locate one individual who I was almost certain his name should have been on the Wall. At the time, I thought he must have actually survived even though I was fairly certain that I heard he did not survive. Other than that, I have always been able to locate the individuals I was searching for.

A possible source of information would be the Army Times. It had a regular column listing those who were reported as KIA during that particular week. I feel quite certain that the other branches of service had something similar.

http://www.mrfa.org/vnstats.htm

I, too, have visited the wall în DC a number of times, along with a few of the "mini" walls that have toured.

It still seems so desperately surreal to me after more than 40 years...

There are 2 names on the Wall from my high school.

That is a pretty high percentage when you think about it.

I am in contact with a few Vets from my era who, like me, were wounded pretty bad but got past it and got on with life.

Keep in mind, many of us did not ask for any of it. We did not volunteer, we were not looking for a way to pay for college through some type of post military plan.

They wrote us a letter, and took us away, gave us what amounted to a minimum amount of training, and then sent us to a place where we had no business being.

I have been to The Wall once. I will never go back.

I have been to The Wall once. I will never go back. Originally Posted by Jackie S

You are not by alone because there is no right or wrong way to deal with The Wall. Everyone has their own level of tolerance that is unique to only them.

I hope the Education center becomes a reality. I think the Vietnam War was the ultimate turning point for America. Great thread!!

What they didn't learn in Korea, was repeated in Nam and every conflict since.

There are 2 names on the Wall from my high school.

That is a pretty high percentage when you think about it.

I am in contact with a few Vets from my era who, like me, were wounded pretty bad but got past it and got on with life.

Keep in mind, many of us did not ask for any of it. We did not volunteer, we were not looking for a way to pay for college through some type of post military plan.

They wrote us a letter, and took us away, gave us what amounted to a minimum amount of training, and then sent us to a place where we had no business being.

I have been to The Wall once. I will never go back. Originally Posted by Jackie S

Well said.

What they didn't learn in Korea, was repeated in Nam and every conflict since. Originally Posted by i'va biggen

We might as well stay out of other people's business, it hasn't helped the world much. Better to just give money to strong allies to fight as our proxy.

The Wall that Obama purposely shutdown to make cheap political points ?



Obama is a despicable POS.

The Wall that Obama purposely shutdown to make cheap political points ?



Obama is a despicable POS. Originally Posted by Whirlaway

You are referring to the same wall!