Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 2014
Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who died while serving in the armed forces. Washington D.C. is always a great place to visit, but has particular significance on this day. Our family visited D.C. two years ago and I posted thoughts of the day on my blog and photos on my website notmydayjobphotography.com. Particularly moving was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. It was designed by Maya Lin, made up of two black marble walls dramatically joined in two triangles that chronologically list the names of more than 58,000 soldiers killed or missing in action. There was a long line of people waiting to view the triangular-shaped walls. There were flowers, mementos, letters, missing in action notices, army boots on the ground above where the names were listed. Some in the line walked slowly, pausing to reflect while others identified specific soldiers, possibly friends, family members, or fellow soldiers. The somber memorial personalizes the conflict with the names etched into stone.