The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the most visited Memorial on the National Mall and also one of the most emotionally moving. The Memorial is the most unique on the Mall, a V-shaped wall of black polished marble cut into the side of a swale and containing the names of 58,267 men & women killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War. One side of the V points toward the Lincoln Memorial while the other points toward the Washington Monument. The Vietnam Memorial was built entirely with private funds (nine million dollars) and was dedicated on November 11, 1984.
Walking along the Memorial is a very silent and somber experience, with many people stopping to leave a flower bouquet or making a paper & pencil tracing of a lost loved one’s name from the Memorial wall. Reflecting the mood of the Memorial photographically is next to impossible, however I hope the images that follow do it justice. The day Deb & I were there in August a Boy Scout Troop was visiting the Memorial and it was a privilege to photography them as then slowly moved through the Memorial in single file, completely silent, many of them holding their hats in front of their hearts.
This next image is becoming one of my all time favourites.
And finally a reflection of the Washington Monument though the names on the Wall.
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