For those of you who lost friends or relatives in Viet Nam. http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm http://www.roskamdogtag.com/msnbc_today.asp
this is a good site, ilooked up my classmates who were killed in Nam, they went to college and then were drafted I droped out of school and went over in 1967 and by the grace of God made it back physically unharmed
I have several friends on that wall. All of then old high school friends. Also one of the people who's dog tags were returned was an old high school friend. I still remember that day in early spring of 1967 when i saw Steve Palmquist in town. He was driving a red and white '56 Chevy 4 door hardtop. It was the last time i ever saw or talked to him.
Couple years back I helped set up the traveling wall in Gresham, incredibly shocking to glance at the number of names. Had second thoughts about doing it for purely personal differences but came up with a solution. As the wall came to 1972 I walked away and let the rest of the guys finish it out. I've always wanted to believe that the guys that were still there when I left came home upright. Its hard enough looking at the names you know belong there but the surprises would be too hard to face. Have to say it was a real comfort to see the respect shown to this incredible memorial to guys that never got a proper welcome at home.
Never forget any veteran who has passed, or who is still with us. I remember reading a story in Life magazine when I was a junior in high school. A reporter was interviewing this Marine in Viet Nam that had lied about his age and arrived in country when he was 16. I couldn't fathom that at the time. I think the average age for the American soldier in Viet Nam was 19. Just like any war, that was a godawful place to be. Pretty hard to get accustomed to the realization that you are in a place where there are people who want you dead and will do anything to achieve that.