11.11.11

11.11.11

To Papas San,

For the first time, 36 years after, last month, Little Saigon had the honor of receiving The Moving Wall, an American Display. I am sending this photo essay into a certain cyberspace. There I see you with my heart of love and gratitude... Linh Duy Vo, 11.11.11, now is 00:49.

... Your MIAs bracelet I have worn since 1996. Grandma loved me as she often said while alive, "Linh, you are a piece of my son John Garrett..."

Born on the Eleventh of November

   (To Julie Kink in honor of our beloved Vietnam Veterans)

A loving sister came to the Wall

Looking for her brother’s name

She touched the living image

"Who’s there?…we look much the same."

She caressed the etched soul "David R. Kink"

Talking to herself…no, her dear brother

Who went off to War, Vietnam, fighting for Peace

Hiding tears from his eight-year-old sister.

Each Veterans Day she went to see her brother

The black granite

The green pasture

The dew that blanketed the night.

She brought a flower for David’s Birthday

A whole world she had for her brother

She held him in her heart

He was born on the Eleventh of November…

Linh Duy Vo
Autumn 1997 ©
                                           This photo was taken by Linh Vo at a very sacred place in Washington DC.

The poem was read on Veterans Day 1997 at President Nixon Library & Birthplace by Director John H. Taylor.

Dear Papas San,

This morning I woke up and realized that I had sent my essay out 24 hours in advance – as I was about to fly our beloved U.S.A. flag. There is a reason for everything. My wandering mind, heart and soul were traveling back. Vietnam still is the emotional prison to our MIAs and their Family. I was being submerged in the waters of the Mekong Delta, or lost on the hills of Khe Sanh, or just revisiting countless treacherous jungles where your footprints are left…

Eternally gratefully yours,

Linh

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