Yesterday we announced the release of a new project that we’ve been working on, an interactive version of The Wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The news spread fast and we’ve seen a tremendous response to the announcement. That’s the good news.
The not so good news is that we’re having trouble keeping up with the number of people who are coming to visit the site.
We’re working to improve things, and hope you’ll be patient with us.
In the meantime, you can learn more about The Wall project here.
This is a remarkable project and I am grateful for this tool devoted to the men and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam war.
I wish that there is a way to also dedicate space to those men and women who’s deaths are not represented on the gorgeous sleek granite panels, but none the less, are honored each April by the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Foundation for dedicating their lives to the military and for whom their deaths have been recognized as being directly attributed to their service during the Vietnam war.
My father is one of many, who are represented collateral deaths who’s lives also should be recognized by this worthy site.
Thank you again,
Karen Byers
Thanks for making this point. We hope that people will use the site to honor others who have served. There are a few ways that you can do that on the site, but perhaps the best is the Story Pages.
Here are some examples of people using story pages to remember a loved one.
You can upload images to add to your page, add details and stories about the person and create a lasting tribute.
Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Good luck keeping up with it. AWESOME app. 🙂
out standing about time I will put a link on uswarriorsonline.com when it is up and running
the war gave us many waking dead,I have a name that should be added to the wall even though he did not die until 30 Nov. 1985. Too many people were returned tp us and become the walking dead ane the society did nothing to help them or even the military.
Ana Plesnik-Vorholt
The war sent too many walking dead back, and I have a name to add to list of the dead on the wall , he did not die until 1985 but his soul was laft in Vietnam in 1968, during his third tour.
The name is Leo Joseph Vorholt Jr., died 30 November 1985,12:55 of strss, dpression,and leucemia.
Served at Tan Son Nhut A. B from July 1964 to July 1965 I will bring my memories to this page when I have them all collected. Thanks
Bien Hoa, Jan to Dec 1970, I can’t visit the traveling wall without bawling my eyes out!!! Lets try winning this one!
Once again Footnote shows us how to create a memorial with no boundaries – and the value of visitor input. I look forward to seeing the photos and comments left to further honor these heroes. I hope you will spotlight them regularly here.
THE OTHER THINGS WE CARRY
RonLeonard
It’s been 35 years since a Huey’s whine
And midnight missions in the nick of time
It’s been 35 years since a claymore mine
And ground attacks so clear in your mind.
And only yesterday it was ’69
We carried Ammo, and Rockets, and beer, and mail
We carried body bags that would make you wail
We carried friends in our arms, as we turned pale
We carried buckets of water to wash out blood stale
We carried medals of valor for feats unbelieved
We carried purple hearts for wounds we received
But most of all we carried each other
Today we carry other things, some real, some imagined
We carry cancer of every kind known to man
Agent Orange poisoning,
and Malaria,
and Lymphoma,
and Diabetes,
and Hepatitis C,
And many still have PTSD.
We carry arms with no hands,
and legs with no feet,
and scars both mental and real.
We carry crutches and walkers,
and wheelchairs and canes,
with honor it’s no big deal.
We carry horror stories of the Veterans Administration,
of six months waits,
and lack of funds,
and shoddy care,
of indifferent employees,
and crummy food,
and broken promises
and downright lies.
But we still carry each other
We carry memories from the past,
and pictures of our youth
and through it all still have our dignity.
For many it is all we have.
Now and then, there are times when panic will set in and we have hideous dreams,
And people squeal,
they twitch and make moaning sounds,
and cover their heads and say “Dear God”,
and hug the pillow and cringe and beg for the dreams to stop,
and make stupid promises to themselves and God and their wives,
hoping they will all go away,
but they don’t.
But we still carry each other.
We carry the weight of shattered dreams,
and broken marriages,
and deformed children with insidious wounds,
and twisted faces,
and deformed legs,
and broken spines,
lost for all time.
We carry the thoughts of the future,
of honor and duty,
and pride,
and tradition.
We carry fear for our children in far off lands,
The outcome can only be in Gods hands
The midnight runs as the Huey whines,
The rescue missions in the nick of time,
The muffled blast of a claymore mine,
And only yesterday it was ’69.
But we still carry each other.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Just a quick note to Moultrie Creek to say that you can watch as images, comments, Spotlights and other things are added to site, including those added to The Wall, on the new Member Discoveries page.
This is a fairly new addition to the site and we haven’t had time to write a post about it, but it provides a nice view into what people are adding to the site.
From 66-69 I got lucky and served in a comm office in the Pentagon. Good, as I was just barely 18, not athletic, and probably would not have lasted long in VN. But one of the things we did was “process” EVERY death report of EVERY GI. I watched as the dates of birth reached my date and then got younger.
How many names are on the wall that passed through my hands? I can’t say. But I can say I’m sorry I couldn’t help, or do something.
Thank you all for your service and welcome home. My Dad is on 1e, line 64, KIA 26-Sept-64; inducted in to the Ranger Hall of Fame, July, 1999, thanks to his Ranger buddies. Let’s hope the gov’t does more for the current “orphans of war” and veterans than they did for us…”
My very best friend growing up was Jeffrey Lynn Morris.
He was a gentle, compassionate soul. He loved life and nature.
He taught me so many things, like holding frogs, bugs, snakes, and the importance of caring about the environment. His violent death was in direct contrast to the way he lived his life. He died forty-one (41) years ago and I still mourn the loss of a wonderful human being and my very best friend.
My father was a Marine in WWII and lost his arm at nineteen (19) in Okinawa. Whether I agree with a war or not, I cannot begin to convey the sincere gratitude I have for every man and woman that has served our Country. It is because of all of you that we have our precious freedom and I will never take it for granted. “Thank you” seems so inconsequential, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart.
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hello
my name is debbie i love your wall awesome.i found my dads name george f evans died in 1969 .thanks so very much from all of our family.