Well, I've been talking about John McCain and his thoughts on courage in the last couple of posts, and I wanted to post this. While I was in DC, I went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. This is the first time I've been to DC, and of course I've always heard about the Wall and seen pictures of it. It's incomprehensible just trying to wrap your mind around all those names and what they represent, but what really got to me were all the letters and mementos that were left there. There were what appeared to be letters written by school children, pictures of grandchildren and other personal symbols of remembrance. The one that really stuck with me though was this one, pictured above. It reads:
"Dear Heroes,
I sincerely hope I am soldiering with the same courage & bravery you all did.
SFC E. Orque"
I'm not sure about the signature, but I think that is what it says.
It was written on what appeared to be the back of a business card, utilitarian, to the point, humble, simultaneously uplifting and heart-breaking.
2 comments:
I have always wanted to visit that memorial, as my father is a Vietnam veteran. I imagine it would be an extremely emotional event for me; there are men listed on that wall that died instead of my Dad, and because they died and he lived I'm here. I can only hope to make it there someday, and that perhaps I could have made any one of them as proud as their own children would have. (I know seeing Ground Zero was a sobering experience for me, and I have no where near the personal connection to that as I do the Vietnam memorial.)
Wow, I'd never thought of it from that perspective-viewing it from a survivor's (or the decendant of a survivor's) point of view. I don't really have any personal connections to the Vietnam War, and it was still quite an emotional experience for me, much as seeing Ground Zero was for you, I'm sure.
From what I've read on your blog, I'm sure if you set your mind on visiting the memorial some day, you'll make it; and I think you're definitely on track to have made any of those veterans proud!
Post a Comment