Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
Years ago, we spent a day exploring the monuments and memorials on the National Mall. We rode the 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 designated/established: November 13, 1982
Date of my visit: November 7, 2007
Did you see the nearby memorial to the nurses who served in Viet Nam? It is wonderful
No, I don’t think it or the nearby Korean War memorial was finished back then. We were supposed to go to DC last summer and see all that, but my dad passed away while we were enroute. We’ll get back there for a visit eventually.
58,000……so sad. War is such a waste of land, people, resources. I’m ready for peace as the goal.
Yes, there are way too many war memorials representing so much loss of life
It would be good to have an end to the need for war memorials. Condolences on the loss of your dad.😔
Thank you🙏
A costly, sad adventure — I visited the wall with a Vietnam veteran when it was under construction, climbed over the construction fencing to have a look.
Wow! I snuck into Ellis Island when it was under renovation. A friend and I were downtown for fleet week and ran into another friend who was working in the park. He took us on the workman’s ferry to see.
Such previews are the best adventures