Rolling Thunder Sunday on the Mall traditionally generates the largest crowd of the Memorial Day weekend in DC. When it started in the late 1980's? the numbers were enormous and eclipsed the following day, Memorial Day proper, turnout. At the VN Memorial ceremonies at least, part of this lack of attendance.I think was Jan Scruggs' doing. He was one of the 12 original members of the VN Memorial committee created in 1978 and became the de facto leader - he tended to invite the most bland of politically correct speakers. So Sunday was the day of real excitement.
This year the crowds and participation were down. We have to face it - it's been 50 years now since the war. Veterans (real veterans, not guys with patches) were few and far between. And so with storms forecast for tomorrow I put up my traditional posters to buddies left on the battlefield today. The poster at my feet - later left in front of his panel on the Wall - was for Dickie Golding, High School classmate. MACVSOG, Killed 23 Nov 1968, I was the last HS classmate to see him on my way out of Vietnam 1 Nov 68. In my HS class there were 162 male graduates in the class of 1962; 148 served in the Military, at least half in Vietnam - this was the Old South.
