Remembering Vietnam

On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall’s Web site, a volunteer writes about nightfall at the 24-hour memorial. Many mourners come to the wall under the cover of darkness, he writes, standing alone in front of a loved one’s name. A security guard reported that one man stood by a panel for several hours one night, moving away when anyone came close to him, returning to the panel when he was again by himself. This story says so much about the Vietnam experience: the aloneness, the disconnectedness, the darkness. The Wall, a half-size replica of the memorial in Washington, tours the nation to give mourners a chance to honor the dead—day or night—without having to make the pilgrimage to Washington. The Wall will be open to the public in Reno 24 hours a day through Nov. 11 at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, 1502 Washington St. Volunteers will be available to help visitors find names from the 58,191 listed and make "rubbings" of the names. Call 848-5190 for details.