A few months ago I visited the Valley Oaks Griffin Memorial Park, in West Lake, California. I went to see the exhibit of the Traveling Vietnam Wall. This is a three-- quarter-scale traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans memorial in Washington, D.C. This replica was created in 1990. It is 8feet high and 240 feet long. The black reflective surface is inscribed with names of more than 58,000 military personnel who died or are missing in Vietnam.

Driving up to this Veterans Memorial park was powerful in it's own right; with the flags waving in the wind, flowers, and special objects on the grave sights of these men. I could hear in the distance the names of the Vietnam Veterans being read as I stood by the grave sight of this young man....on his birthday. Anthony Charles Melia; his heading inscribed: I AM NOT FAR, I AM QUITE NEAR WHISPER SOFTLY AND I WILL HEAR. Seeing all the little decorations that his family had placed in his memory was heartbreaking. The tears began to fall, and continued as I approached the Vietnam Wall. The reflection of the setting sun on the black reflective surface cast incredible shadows and light on the names of the missing and dead. Volunteer Veterans were there to direct and help visitors. Families searched for loved ones...some, unable to make it to Washington DC, found this to be a healing time. With the names continually being read in the background of those names inscribed on the wall... people would locate their loved one, take a piece of paper and pencil, and then trace over their name.

This report is dedicated to all those Veterans who fought for our freedom and especially for those who died in doing so, for their families who are forced to survive without them, for the trauma the veterans endured and the changes that occurred in their lives as a result, the untold stories too hard to tell us and too painful to remember..,,,,, and for all those who are patriotic but couldn't fight in wars they didn't believe in, but stand and fight for our freedom every day, in ways we may not know. This tribute is to all of you and your suffering, and especially to your healing