Vietnam War Memorial Traveling Tribute

It has been a good 15 years since I last saw the 'moving wall' as I have heard it called. That was in Houston with my best friend Faith. We walked, read personal letters left to a name engraved on a wall. We cried and cried and it left a deep impression.

When I read Vietnam War Memorial Traveling Tribute was in Auburn for one more day, Mom and I headed that way. You can't visit this tribute without crying. Not for our losses. We were lucky, our family came back alive. But when you see someone lean into the wall, reach up to gently touch a name, knowing they are touching the essence of that person gone. You see, no, you feel the connection they make. They stand in front of the panel for a long, long time, remembering, having a conversation with that young man's spirit, long dead in a senseless war. It rips your heart out. So as mom and I watched many of these scenes unfold, we said thanks that our loved ones still with us. And then said one more prayer for those finding closure in a small park in Auburn, Washington. For some, that war was not that long ago.