I wanted to put these pictures up for Memorial Day, but I couldn't find them until now.
The name of one of my classmates, whom I also considered a friend is on this wall. I visited this heart wrenching structure in nineteen-ninety-something.
This photo was taken near the day we graduated from high school. Larry is on the left. My back is to the camera but I know it is me because I wore that danged shirt everywhere. Bill Yerby is standing with Larry. He is married to one of my best friends now.
After graduation, Larry studied to become a pharmacist and then went to Viet Nam. He is one of three brothers and all three of them died early and tragically. The last time I saw Larry Padberg was at a New Year's Eve party at his house. Such a loss.
The Wall caretakers provide pencils and these strips of paper for visitors to make rubbings of names. People leave mementos and gifts at the foot of it. I felt as if I were in a magnetic vortex when I was there.