More than likely I would not have spent 20 years of my nursing career in a VA Medical Center rather than a pediatric setting. My son's short life, 22, made me realize that it is not the number of years one lives but what one does with those years that really counts.

Each time I visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall I see and know that era affected not only my life and family but millions of American lives. The story is yet unfolding and will for a long time to come.

Frances Turley is National President of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.