Mobile Vietnam Memorial.

Jamoni

Active member
The mobile Vietnam Memorial is in St. Louis this weekend. I'm taking my son to see it this afternoon. He's to young to understand, but I want him there.
 
How old is your son Jamoni? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember in one of your posts saying your father served three tours in Viet Nam?
 
Jamoni, that is a very nice thing that they do, bringing that mobile memorial around to various locations. I have never been able to go to the memorial in D.C (I won't for personal reasons) but I did manage to see the mobile memorial when it came to my town some years ago.
They have a group of folks that will help you find names. When I went, I really didn't want to find anyone at all so I didn't stop at that tent. I brought my wife and youngest son. Actually my wife insisted that she come with me. I figured I'd just take a quick look and pay my respects to all and be out of there.
I just picked a random panel and started there. Well, the first name that met my eyes was someone that I served with in Vietnam. I couldn't believe that out of more than 50,000 names this guy's was the one I would be face to face with. I was really taken aback and shaken. All the memories came back along with the accompanying emotions. I'll tell you that I wept there more than I did at my own parents funerals. I remember hearing my son asking Mom why Dad was crying because he'd never seen that happen before. Mom just told him that Dad was talking to his friend and he came over and gave me a hug. It was a truly unexpectedly moving experience for me.
So while your there say hello for me will you? Not to anyone in particular but to all my fallen comrades, God bless them all.
 
Oops I see that you went before I posted. Oh well, maybe next time. I'm sure all the good people that went to the memorial appreciated the effort that brought it to the area.
 
Yeah, my Dad did 3 tours. I went, and it was... different. I mean, my dad never really talked much about his friends, so I didn't have any names, I just wanted to go. There were a lot of people there, even though it was raining. I'm not really sure what I felt.
Anyway, my son is 16 months old. He's a real cool guy. I didn't end up taking him cause of the rain. He's a little under the weather.
 
3 tours! What branch was he in? I know that my single tour in the Central Highlands as an Infantry scout was enough for me. I got banged up so many times (for my liking) that I was starting to look like Swiss cheese. I decided to count my blessings and rotate out after a year. Back then they used to refer to the MOS 11B as "11 Bullet-catcher" and too many of us proved that to be an accurate description.
Anyway I hope your son feels better soon.
 
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