TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. — I’d never been to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. so when its ¾ scale replica came to Tunkhannock I wanted to see it.
Several dozen visitors were spread out in front of the wall when I got there. What struck me almost immediately was the quiet of the place. There was talking but nothing loud, no laughter, just murmuring among the people. I walked up to the “Wall That Heals” and in a few moments, I understood why.
Before us were more than 58 thousand names of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. 58 thousand, however, is just a number. Here were the identities of those behind the number, names of real people, names of those who never came home.
There was a listing of names from the region. I found one from my hometown. There was his name, on the wall. He was younger so we had only a passing acquaintance in school. His name on the wall brought back memories of him, vague memories but still, they were something. How awful this must be for family members to encounter, for vets still carrying the invisible wounds of war. No wonder we were all hushed.
I considered what might have become of that man and those behind the rest of the names had they returned home. A cure for cancer, perhaps that died in Vietnam. A serum allowing us to live good, healthy lives far beyond what we can expect today, maybe someone who died in Vietnam would have created that. At the very least I imagined most would come home, start families, become good neighbors; ordinary people but extraordinary all the same. We will never know, of course. We can ask “what if” but there will be no answer.
