The Moving Wall

James Krick, a veteran from Shawnee, Okla., looks at The Moving Wall exhibit, a replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, at Woodland Park in Shawnee , Okla., on Sunday, August 23, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

When I was a kid, my father, a Vietnam Veteran, took his family to see The Moving Wall when it came to Veteran’s Park in Tulsa. I was young, and I’m sure I didn’t fully comprehend or appreciate what I was seeing. My dad, like many Vietnam veterans, knew people back in 1968 whose names are now on the wall. I remember thinking that for such a large exhibit, the names were very small.

A bottle of beer left near a flag at The Moving Wall exhibit, a replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, at Woodland Park in Shawnee , Okla., on Sunday, August 23, 2009. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

I’m 23 years older, with a family of my own now, so the wall was infinitely more meaningful to me, seeing it at a park in Shawne, Okla., on Sunday afternoon. Most people around me were in their church clothes, looking at the wall, touching it and taking pictures. Photographing it for the newspaper, I wanted to keep in mind the small type on the wall, and how many names it takes to fill the panels.