[Sgt_Tropo]

I made the trip to the wall in December of 1998. It was snowing like all git-out, and for several minutes I was the only fool out there. I walked down into that hallowed crease and almost immediately began to weep. Then I found a familiar name from my unit and my past. The weeping turned into a flood and my knees went weak. I knelt there crying like I never did before or since. It seemed like I cried for hours before I felt the arm around my shoulder.
When I stood and my eyes cleared enough to see who was holding me, I was truely shocked. The arm belonged to a young man of only 17. He was the son of one of those listed on the wall. He thanked me for my service and the sacrifice which I and all the other Vietnam vets had made. It seemed that he simply vanished from before me, because I cannot for the life of me remember his leaving.
I have been back one other time, but that time felt entirely different. I felt like I was visiting old friends, not lost friends. I had a tear or two in my eyes, but not like the first time. I know now that my friends are honorably remembered and that their names will not fade into obsurity.
If you have not been able to visit the wall, for whatever reason, please do not continue to put it off. There is healing in seeing and visiting with your fallen comrades and those that are living and constantly attending to others at the wall.
The wall brings tears to heal the wounds we all feel and allows us to once again "see" our fallen brothers in a new light.
The names represent 58,000+ true heroes that we, the survivors, need to constantly remember and honor.