Calling of Roll at Wall Salutes Vietnam Dead
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WASHINGTON — Reading of the 58,183 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial began Sunday in a moving tribute marking the 10th anniversary of the black granite monument.
At noon, the first of 1,000 volunteers stood at the memorial, known as the Wall, and began reading the names of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. The reading will continue around the clock until Wednesday morning, Veterans Day.
Among the volunteers were the Rev. Jesse Jackson; CNN correspondent Peter Arnett, who covered the war; ABC correspondent Jack Smith and Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam War veteran who worked to get the memorial built and organized the 10th anniversary ceremonies.
Some Vietnam War veterans visiting the Wall were choked with emotion.
Stewart Green, who served in 1967 and 1968 and again in 1969-70, said: “It was a very traumatic experience for me. . . . My fellow schoolmates that we went with . . . the four of us that went over there, three of them didn’t come back. It was . . . really moving for me.”
About 2.5 million people visit the Wall every year, making it the most-visited memorial in the nation’s capital. It has also become an emotional shrine for many Vietnam War veterans and their relatives and friends.
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