The Memorials

On 9/11/01 I was in first grade. I remember leaving the back exit of school and being rushed home with my father. The only other thing I can remember from that day is collecting pieces of burned paper and metal that traveled to my front yard from Ground Zero. I was living in a naïve child’s world. I didn’t understand anything until a few years later when I met people that lost loved ones in the crash.

When I went to visit the 9/11 Memorial last year with my senior class, we were each assigned the name of a victim to research so that we could all feel more personally connected to our surroundings. One by one, we all read several short lines for each victim that will forever be the legacy of those who perished in the brutal terrorist attack a few short years ago. The memorial’s vastness made me feel tiny and helpless in comparison. The rushing water drowned out my senses and all I could hear was static all around me. I remember feeling upset, confused, and overwhelmed.

Contrary to what I was expecting, I felt similar emotions when we visited the Vietnam Memorial last Thursday. Having no personal connection to Vietnam whatsoever, I thought all we would be seeing were some gruesome pictures and memorabilia from the war. I thought wrong.

At first, I didn’t even realize that I was in the memorial. I thought we were in a park and we had to find a pathway to get to the memorial. That’s when I noticed the big block wall that had hardly legible letters etched onto it. One by one, Viviane and I tried to read every letter on the wall. Some were sad, some were heartbreaking, some were gruesome, and some made me cringe. I rememeber feeling upset, confused, and overwhelmed, but for a whole different set of reasons than before.

I could hardly read most of the letters because they fell off of the wall and I got the sense that people didn’t care as much about what happened in Vietnam. Most people nowadays don’t personally connect to it, but I still believe that it should be viewed in a similar light to the 9/11 Memorial. After all, countless people died and in the end all that matters is that everyone and anyone who died for their country deserve to be remembered.