from the Department of Defense

Flowers adorn the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial lists the names of 58,249 dead and missing from the Vietnam War. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


James Finnerty and his wife, Denise, look for names of casualties from Finnerty's unit during Vietnam, the 101st Airborne Division, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. The Finnertys traveled from Pennsylvania to visit the memorial. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


Gary Morrison, of Cape Coral, Fl., kneels in front of the name of James McMahon at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Morrison and McMahon joined the Marine Corps together the day after they graduated high school and went through basic training together. McMahon was killed while on a patrol that was coming to help Morrison's unit get out of an ambush in Vietnam. Morrison wears a bracelet engraved with McMahon's name. Morrison said that it's hard for him to come to the Wall, but he wanted to come to honor his comrades. "I wanted to do it out of respect for our fallen heroes," he said. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


Visitors view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Nov. 9 in Washington, D.C. The memorial consists of three parts: the Wall of names, the Three Servicemen Statue and flagpole, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA



Nikki Elkind, of Fort Collins, Colo., and Margaret Adams, of Oxford, England, view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


Daniel V. Miller, a Vietnam veteran and a member of the USMC Combat Helicopter Association, makes a rubbing of the name of Thomas Lenz at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Miller, who travelled from Chapel Hill, N.C., to visit the memorial, served with Lenz during his tour in Vietnam. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


The Three Servicemen Statue overlooks the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA

UPDATE: If you liked these pics, there's also an incredible one over at Speed of Thought. You really should go take a look at it. (Hat tip to Billy Budd over at American Dinosaur)