{UAH} VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON DC.

VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON DC.

By Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

I visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. Apparently, it's the most-visited memorial on the National Mall in Washington, attracting more than 5 million people each year.

I was there with my sister's husband, whose brother is listed on the wall. Apparently, he drove a plane into the enemy fire, knowing he wouldn't come back, but he did it to save others.

The most prominent feature of the memorial is a massive wall that lists the names of over 58,000 servicemen and women who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

Every night, the staff remove (and preserve) the mementoes left behind. Letters, photographs, flowers, stuffed animals. Bottles of beer left from old friends. Marriage announcements of children or grandchildren left for a dead father. There is a warehouse with about 400,000 items. It's been 40 years since the Memorial went up, so the number of mementos is decreasing as the survivors die off or their pain fades with time, but they keep coming even to this day.

The Americans are in the process of creating a Global War on Terrorism Memorial, which presumably will include both the unjustified war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I sometimes wonder whether the Vietnam War was worth it.

Back in my home country, Uganda, I also wonder if there's a memorial for those (soldiers and civilians) that died during the Luwero Bush war( 1980- 86). Their names should be listed somewhere,  please 🙏 regardless of how things have panned  out 36 years after the war. We could boost our tourism revenue this way if everything is well planned. 

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