Nothing in my lifetime compares to the global and personal tragedy that was the Vietnam War. My first knowledge of Vietnam was in 1960 when I lived with my sailor husband in Japan. We saw many convoys loaded with tanks, mortars, huge machine guns and crates all labeled "For the people of Vietnam from the people of the United States." I was curious and used the base library to find out all I could about this war. When the French colonials left in 1954, the United States took on the responsibility of keeping the peace in the divided country. President Eisenhower sent the first troops to Vietnam. By 1960 Vietnam was a full-fledged war. Based on what I learned, I considered this a civil war and wanted our troops to leave. Instead, 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam. Nearly 1 in 10 were wounded or killed. The total killed was 58,148 and over 75,000 were severely disabled. Over 2/3 of those who served were volunteers, not draftees. These photos of the war (but not the Memorial) were taken by the great Larry Burrows who lost his life during the war in 1971, at 44 years old.