A Visit to The Wall That Heals

Today we took our boys and their friend to see the Wall that Heals, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica and Education Center.  The exhibition features a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and it travels throughout the United States.

After we found my maternal uncle's name on the wall, a volunteer came up to us.  He took out his smart phone and found my uncle's war memorial web page.  He told the boys how he died and showed them his picture. We all got a little lesson on how to find names on the wall and what the symbols represent.  The volunteer even took us to the panel that has the name of the youngest Vietnam War casualty, Dan Bullock, and told us his story. The boys were mesmerized.

We made our way over to the education center.  We took a lot of time looking at the display of photos, letters, and memorabilia left at The Wall in D.C.  All of those things put a story to the names on the wall.

It was a great experience and I am so thankful we all got to share it.  My oldest son kept saying how much fun he had (I'm sure because his friend was with him) and that he learned a lot.  That makes me happy.

The Wall That Heals
Paul F. Branyan, Jr. Memorial Page
Dan Bullock Memorial Page