The Travelling Wall.....

This was not our first visit nor will it be our last. Saturday we took the kids to the Vietnam Memorial Travelling Wall at the local VFW. It is such a beautiful piece of property to begin with the Wall almost takes your breath away. This year they brought alot of extra things for the kids to see. Several military vehicles from deuces, to helicopters, to motorcycles with the weapon attachment. It turned into quite the history lesson.

One of the largest American flags I have seen.

58,272 names are now on the wall.

It was BEAUTIFULLY displayed.

United States Navy

United States Marine Corps

United States Army

United States Air Force

It was quite stunning to be that close.

May they Rest in Peace.

I believe they enjoyed the history lesson.

They loved the tent.

So the true History lesson is this.....

-Over 2.7 million served in Vietnam

-There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall

-31 sets of parents lost two of their sons

-31 sets of brothers are on the Wall

-39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger

-8283 were just 19 years old

-The largest group, 33,103 were 18 years old

-12 soldiers were 17 years old

-5 soldiers were 16 years old

-One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock, was 15 years old

-997 soldiers were killed on the first day in Vietnam

-1448 soldiers were killed on the last day in Vietnam

-8 women are on the Wall

-16 chaplains are on the Wall

-Number of Medal of Honor recipients during Vietnam - 244

-153 Medal of Honor recipients are listed on the Wall

-West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation with 711 KIA

-The most casualty deaths in a single day was 31 Jan 1968 - 245 deaths

-The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2415 deaths

Phil's step-father, James, had a friend who was killed in Vietnam. We were able to find him, do a rubbing of the name and mail it to him. Phil's father, Gene, was in Vietnam (he lied about his age to serve). Many of Phil's family members served even though he could not.

I know they could not fully comprehend the concept of why we were there I still think the kids enjoyed themselves.

TTFN~