A Moving Exhibit

 

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 68, low 45)

From 10/11/15

I think winter will be arriving here in the north Georgia mountains with the predicted temps getting town into the 30’s later this week.  We awoke to 45 degrees this am, and thankfully above the point where our heat pumps quit working.

After such a wonderful day Friday with the elk, Saturday it rained most of the day.  We hunkered down at home, except for a few short golf cart rides and a trip into town for a look at the Moving Viet Nam Wall.  It’s half the size of the original one in DC, but it was pretty impressive nonetheless.

We have tried to see it for years, but we’ve always missed it for one reason or another.  If you are interested in seeing it, the link to the remainder of the 2015 schedule is here.  It travels each year from April through November.

Al and I met on the island of Guam while our fathers were stationed at Anderson Air Force Base, during the height of the Viet Nam War.  Guam was an important base for the military and most every day, we saw camouflaged  B-52 aircraft taking off and landing on our tiny island.   We also very frequently saw big trucks loaded with bombs, also in camouflaged paint.  Guam was also a place for the military for their R & R.  Both of our fathers jobs were heavily involved in the war efforts, but I suppose pretty much anybody stationed there at the time was as well.

It was always a startling reminder of the nearby war when you saw truck loads of bombs. Regardless of what you thought of the war then or what you think of it now, it was an important part of our history and a lot of people died there.  I’m sure most of growing up in the 60s had friends or family who went to Viet Nam. 

We waited for the rain to slow down and then went into town to see the wall. 

We waded  through a very wet field and went over to the very moving display.

 

There are names of dating back to 1957 when 3 military advisors were killed and they included the 58,300 names listed on the wall, which include 8 women.   It’s a moving experience.

There were people there with computers to look up any name you gave them and would tell you where on the wall to look for their name. 

There were a lot of Viet Nam Vets there visiting and also helping out.  Several left hats and other memorials.

Out of respect, I didn’t take pictures while we were walking by. 

 

I am way behind on my blogging.  We had another interesting experience experience a few days after this.