JanScruggs

The fact that an Asian American won it showed that the design competition was done fairly. I thought it was great myself. Maya is from Athens, Ohio. Both of her parents were professors. Yes a few people were racially prejudiced toward her but these people were ignorant.

Yes the simplicity of the design was consistent with our guidelines that the memorial be harmonious with the green, peaceful landscape of the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Yea you are correct. The first casualties were in 1959 however we later put on a captain who was killed in 1957 while training South Vietnamese troops. There was some unstable TNT left over by the French that detonated.

My favorite memory was being on jet on a runway in Saigon and applauding, along with 200 other soldiers, who had just completed their twelve months in Vietnam. About half of them, like me, were also getting out of the Army as soon as the plane landed with an honorable discharge.

Upon discharge and returning home, it became clear that being a Vietnam veteran was a liability. One girl who I was trying to date found out that I had served in Vietnam and told her friend to tell me that we would not be seeing each other.