It was the bubonic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. This outbreak, the first known bubonic plague pandemic in recorded human history, marked the first of many outbreaks of plague - a disease that claimed as many as 200 million lives throughout history.
A key element to the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the names of the men and women who died while serving with the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. There are more than 58,000 names inscribed on the black granite Memorial. The list of names begins at the vertex of the walls below the year of the first casualty and continues to the end of the east wall. It resumes at the tip of the west wall, ending at the vertex, above the year of the last death.
And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website is dedicated to honoring those who died in the Vietnam War. The Wall USA is a non-profit endeavor maintained by veterans of the 4th Battalion 9th Infantry Regiment for the benefit of all. To learn about us and how you can help maintain this site.