Coming up to the 50th anniversary of the start of the war in Vietnam - 29 March 2012 is marked as Vietnam Veterans Day.

Simple math informs us that the youngest at the end (being 18) would now be just about 57 years old. Very few still serving.

The human cost of that war was too great on all sides and the wounds to the National psyche of the US are yet to fully heal.

May I be so bold as to suggest that in keeping with the spirit of Vietnam Veterans Day this thread be dedicated (and limited) to:

* the memory of the fallen, and

* also in honour of the surviving veterans, and

* things positive that came out of that war.

(Here I request that a moderator take responsibility to police this and delete any posts which are not made in accordance with and in the sprit of the above.)

I end with - as a dedication to the fallen - the last part of the lyrics of the song 'Empty Chairs at Empty Tables' from the show 'Les Miserables':

...
Oh my friends, my friends forgive me

That I live and you are gone.
There's a grief that can't be spoken.
There's a pain goes on and on.

Phantom faces at the window.
Phantom shadows on the floor.
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more.

Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me
What your sacrifice was for
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more