“50,000 names on the Wall”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_1VPK_PeE

http://go.footnote.com/thewall/

~ 50,000 Names Carved in a Wall ~

There are teddy bears and high school rings
And old photographs that mamas bring
That daddys with their young boys, playing ball
There’s combat boots that he used to wear
When he was sent over there
There’s 50,000 names carved in the wall

There’s cigarettes and there’s cans of beer
And notes that say, “I miss you, dear”
And children who don’t say anything at all
There’s purple hearts and packs of gum
Fatherless daughters and fatherless sons
And there’s 50,000 names carved in the wall

They come from all across this land
In pickup trucks and mini vans
Searching for a boy from long ago
They scan the wall and find his name
The teardrops fall like pouring rain
And silently they leave a gift and go

There’s Stars of David & rosary beads
And crucifixion figurines
And flowers of all colors large and small
There’s a Boy Scout badge and a merit pin
Little American flags waving in the wind
And there’s 50,000 names carved in the wall
There’s 50,000 names carved in the wall . . .
Copyright: Jamie O’Hara-dedicated in 11-11-1997 for the
15th Anniversary of the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Performed by George Jones

3 Responses to ““50,000 names on the Wall””

  1. olotliny Says:

    Vietnam memorial names linked to Web

    01:00 AM EDT on Monday, April 14, 2008

    With a few computer keystrokes, each of the 58,000-plus names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Washington, D.C., is now searchable and linked to that person’s service records and casualty report, thanks to the National Archives and the online company Footnote.com at http://www.go.footnote.com/thewall.

    According to the National Archives Web site, Footnote.com started the project by contracting with National Geographic photographer Peter Krogh, who was given the challenge to photograph the entire wall.

    Creating this online version of the wall required almost 1,500 individual photos that were stitched together to create a single image, a process that took over five months and resulted in an image that contains nearly 5 gigapixels. Despite the immense size, anyone can view the image on Footnote.com.

    Creating this digital image of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial enables computer users to locate each veteran’s name in the exact location it appears on the memorial. From there, information on that person is displayed and any visitor to the Web site can upload photos of veterans and leave comments and stories free of charge.

    While all the records used to make the database are accessible through the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov, the Footnote.com site allows computer visitors easier access to these Vietnam War records, according to Allen Weinstein, archivist of the United States. Veterans can be searched through 54 different categories including name, age, birthday, hometown, home state, start of tour date and rank.

    The Web site began operations March 26, the 26th anniversary of the memorial’s groundbreaking ceremony.
    http://www.projo.com/news/veteransjournal/Veterans_column_14_04-14-08_T49OLME_v11.27c8fd8.html

  2. olotliny Says:

    Remains of 7 Repatriated from Vietnam
    April 14, 2008
    Associated Press

    HANOI, Vietnam – Officials say remains believed to be those of seven American servicemen killed during the Vietnam War have been sent back to the United States from central Vietnam.

    Ron Ward of the U.S. MIA office in Vietnam says the remains were loaded onto a U.S. military aircraft at Danang airport Monday and flown to a laboratory in Hawaii for identification.

    The remains were recovered over the last two months from sites in Vietnam.

    Nearly 1,800 U.S. servicemen are still unaccounted for throughout Southeast Asia from the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975. Of those, 1,353 are believed to be in Vietnam.

    An estimated 58,000 Americans and 3 million Vietnamese were killed in the war.
    http://www.military.com/news/article/remains-of-7-repatriated-from-vietnam.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

  3. Glenn Scarborough Says:

    Just by the grace of God my name is not on wall. I love each and everyone who names are there. God Bless and Hold them in his hands.
    I was there in 1969 to 1970 101 abn div. I still think and remember who lucky I was to be with some great men. We lost some of our best they are always near
    me.Glenn


Leave a reply to Glenn Scarborough Cancel reply