Father's Day on the wall

I have saved these photos for last,although they will show up first on the blog. My uncle,James Herbert Smith Jr. , is one of the men who was lost in the Vietnam war. He served a full tour with the Marines, came home, and could not find work because of the attitudes that returning soldiers were faced with in America at that time in our history. Finally, he re-enlisted with the navy, and was killed when his helicopter was shot down near the end of his second tour. I knew he was honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall , and I wanted to visit it so I could send my grandmother photos and a rubbing. She will never be able to get to see this in person. I was unprepared for how deeply it would affect me. As I rubbed his name on the wall, and saw his name appearing on my paper, all I could think of is that he is not forgotten. I thought of my own sons, and how much they mean to me, and what it would do to me to lose them. I thought of Nana, and how she has told me this was the saddest moment of her life. It is a memorial to honor the fallen and lost soldiers of that war, and I couldn't help but think of my grandmother, and all the other mothers, who kissed their sons good-bye and never got to see them again. The flowers were sent by the children of these men, many of whom never got to see or hold them before they died. My uncle had no children, but I am grateful that I could visit his memorial on Father's Day, and leave him a message that he too will not be forgotten.