WASHINGTON — On a cloudy, warm and muggy afternoon, veterans and their families and friends marked Memorial Day by paying tribute to Vietnam War veterans.
An annual ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial honored members of the Armed Forces and those who lost their lives in the war. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the National Park Service hosted the ceremony.
A grandson, sister and daughter were among those who stepped forward to commemorate eight service members whose names are being added to the memorial wall, joining the other 58,307.
The ceremony also commemorated nine status changes on the wall. Tiny crosses that previously signified nine service members as missing in action will have diamonds etched over them. These changes mark those individuals as confirmed deaths and bring closure to their families, according to a program letter from Jim Knotts, president and CEO of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
Marine Captain Dale Dye, a Vietnam War veteran, gave a keynote address at the ceremony. He spoke of the bond that remains between those who survived combat in Vietnam and those who did not make it home, calling attention to the shiny surface of the wall’s polished black granite.
“As we stand in front of this memorial, we see our reflection and it’s as though we’re there again,” Dye said. “It’s as though we’re standing once again in ranks with our honored dead.”
Floral wreaths were laid at the memorial, which is nestled in a grove of trees not far from the Lincoln Memorial.
