Reflections

Growing up in Minnesota, we’d always spend Memorial Day Monday at my mother’s family’s cemetery plot, placing American flags on the graves of our family members who served their country in WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam War.

This year, we happened to find ourselves in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, a bustling metropolis where scores of soldiers lost their lives during the Vietnam War. (Post to follow on our comings-and-goings). It was an odd feeling for this American to visit HCMC on Memorial Day weekend and I spent a lot of time reflecting on how much has changed in the last 40 years since the fall of Saigon.

Our stay this time took us to the grounds of the U.S. Consulate, where U.S. Marines fell defending the former American Embassy, and to the Cu Chi tunnels, site of some of the most brutal fighting in Vietnam and countless lives lost on both sides.

For those Americans who have visited Normandy, you know how profoundly moving, unsettling, and humbling it can be to visit a place overseas where Americans gave their lives in service to our country. On this Memorial Day, I honor all those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice.