New York III

The New York City Vietnam memorial is really quite something. Located in a renamed park at 55 Water Street right near Wall Street it provides a beautiful respite for New Yorkers.

It lists the names of the 1741 of New York's best who lost their lives in the war. Their names are listed on steles that line the 125 foot Walk Of Honor.

The wall itself is made up of greenish glass blocks on which is inscribed the words from news accounts of the day, letters, and poems of those remembered and honored here. In addition, various plaques and a map of Vietnam adorn the site.

One of the things that stands out for me about this site is that it is filled with people. Usually, when I visit a site, I am the only one there. So, this one felt "alive" and I must say that I liked it. The site provides numerous benches for people to use and being in the middle of a very densely utilized area helps, I am sure. The site is, also, very restful as it contains a pulsating water feature, trees, and a view of the river.

Much more information and history may be found here;

http://www.nyvietnamveteransmemorial.org/vvm/making_build.html

Next stop, beautiful Troy New york.