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It’s been over ten years since we spent a day touring the many monuments and memorials in Washington DC while on a road trip to visit family in South Carolina. We’d purchased tickets on a hop on and off bus, after stopping at the Lincoln Memorial, we walked over to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors those who served in the armed forces, died fighting or went MIA during the Vietnam War. The main section is the Memorial Wall which was completed in 1982. It is inscribed with over 58 thousand names on 144 granite panels.
There is a hushed and somber feeling as you as you follow the path past the wall. The reflective surface was designed to portray the past (the engraved names) and the present (the reflection of those looking at them) simultaneously. There was a veteran on hand helping visitors find names and make rubbings. Some left flowers behind.
Nearby is a bronze statue named The Three Servicemen depicting three soldiers who appear to gaze at the wall in tribute to their fallen brothers.
Location: 5 Henry Bacon Dr NW, Washington, DC 20245
Designation: National Memorial
Date designation declared: 11/13/1982
Date of my visit: November 7, 2007
