I am a Vietnam
vet,
one who has not
visited the memorial in Washington yet.
The Wall is a
long, linear monument of panel after panel,
each inscribed
with name after name - all it can handle.
I happened to
see a picture of The Wall on Internet today,
taken at midnight,
light reflected in a most striking way.
It seemed unbelievably
long - stretching almost out of sight.
So many soldiers
killed, perished in their country's fight.
58,226! Imagine
58,226 corpses lying on bloodied ground.
That's more than
the entire population of many a town!
So many lives
cut short, potential never to be fulfilled.
So many friends,
family, loved ones missing them still.
Try to imagine
all the sweethearts that went unwed,
the children
not conceived with their future father dead,
all the little
children who grew up never knowing their dad,
the many achievements,
successes these men might have had.
These 58,226
answered their country's call without asking why.
Thinking of their
supreme sacrifice always brings a tear to my eye.
At The Wall,
people stand and cry, paying tribute to their man.
I'd like to think
he hears them...maybe he can...just maybe he can.
BY:
Harry E. Gilleland
Web site;
http://www.gillelands.com/poetry/