Footnote.com Interactive Vietnam Wall

 
Above is a screen shot from footnote.com's "Interactive Vietnam Wall." The virtual version of the famous memorial which is a pair of 246-foot black granite walls inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 American military casualties is searchable. Every name etched onto the real-world wall is viewable online and linked to the veteran's service record. Online visitors can add photos and describe their memories of the servicemen and women who died in the war. (AP Photo/Footnote.com)

I stumbled across this story at Wired.com last night. After a speedy and painless join up to the Footnote.com site, I was able to view the wall as if I were there. I've seen the wall on 3 or 4 separate occasions and it never fails to overwhelm me.

I was at a key juncture of my life in the late stages of the Vietnam War (another "war" that was never declared so by Congress).

Colour photographs of the Mei Lai Massacre adorned the covers of the news magazines of our coffee table; we ate our dinner each night with the casualty count from the previous day's battles in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam. The son of the family kitty-corner to our home went to war and never came back. The war left a deep and ever-lasting mark on my psyche-a small price compared to so many others.

The ability to  view the Vietnam Memorial Wall is very welcome, if not about 5 years overdue. The wall itself was a little late too, but well worth it and I think the site will prove the same.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Online