A Day of Reflection at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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An Anniversary of Reflection

As the late-morning sun ascended above the towering trees, the black paving stones of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial began to radiate heat. Teenagers on educational excursions, leisurely tourists, and veterans from various American conflicts, recognizable in their coordinated red T-shirts and vests, started to gather. They were part of a tour group from California, converging at the memorial, which stands across from the iconic Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Among the visitors, Dan Creed took a central position at the memorial. A volunteer with the National Park Service and a Vietnam War veteran, Mr. Creed once led an infantry unit in the 101st Airborne Division. Remarkably, during his leadership, no soldiers were injured or killed, a significant feat in a war that claimed 58,220 American lives and left countless others physically and emotionally scarred.

In the years following the war, Mr. Creed married, raised six children, and enjoyed a successful career as a military contractor. On the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s conclusion, he found his reflections on the conflict had evolved. “I always thought that was my proudest thing, that nobody got wounded or killed under my command,” Mr. Creed, now 76 and residing in Fairfax, Virginia, shared. “Then my children grew up happy and successful, and that’s what I’m most proud of now.”

The War’s Enduring Impact

For decades, the Vietnam War was central to the American narrative, a symbol of a nation grappling with its identity and the implications of fighting in a war where the objectives were often ambiguous. The conflict deeply divided a generation. However, 50 years after the final American troops and embassy personnel were evacuated from Saigon, the war’s significance in American culture seems to have receded.

On this anniversary, few visitors specifically came to commemorate the occasion. Many were unaware it was a landmark date, having arrived on long-planned vacations to enjoy a picturesque day in the nation’s capital, with trees budding and azaleas in full bloom. In the crowd, older visitors reflected on Vietnam and the loved ones they lost with a maturity born of time — still grieving, yet with less anger, and more willing to discuss the sorrows they once kept hidden.