Vietnam Veterans Wash Their Own Memorial

May 24, 2013

Visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial look at the tens of thousands of names carved into the wall.

Welcome to American Mosaic from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

Today, we play some Billboard Award-winning hits.

We also tell about an organization that helps music students prepare for a career in music.

But first, we visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, as it gets a clean-up from volunteers.

Washing “The Wall

”

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC is one of the most-visited places in the nation’s capital. It honors members of the United States armed forces who served in the war.

Part of the memorial is two black stone walls made of smooth black stone. They come together to form a “V.” On the wall is a list of more than 58,000 names of soldiers who died or went missing during the Vietnam War.

On the second Sunday of the month, from April through October, members of a veteran’s group gather early in the morning to wash the walls. They say they do it to show their respect for those Americans lost during the war, which ended in 1975.

VOA’s Julie Taboh was there one recent Sunday morning and talked with members of the group.

Every Sunday from April through October, Rolling Thunder volunteers gather to wash the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. (VOA/J. Taboh)