The Wall

cv^Rio/^

WALL by Eve Bunting illustrated

|7''

:..

by Ronald Himler

p I,

'".ALTERNATIVE lie

Dr.

Bouia^r, Colorado

THE WALL

Clarion Books a

Houghton

Mifflin

215 Park Avenue South,

Text copyright

©

Company imprint

New York, NY

10003

1990 by Eve Bunting

©

Illustrations copyright

1990 by Ronald Hmiler

All rights reserved.

For information about permission to reproduce

from

selections

Houghton

Mifflin

this

book, write to Permissions,

Company,

2 Park Street, Boston,

Printed in the

MA 02108.

USA

Library of Congress Calaloging-iti-Puhlication Data

Bunting, Eve, 1928-

The Wall / by Eve Bunting;

illustrated

Summary: A boy and

his father

Vietnam Veterans Memorial boy's grandfather,

in

[1.

come from

far

away

to visit the

Washington'and find the name of the

who was

ISBN 0-395-51588-2

by Ronald Himler.

cm.

p.

killed in the conflict.

PA ISBN 0-395-62977-2

Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, D.C.) — Fiction.] I.

Himler, Ronald,

ill.

PZ7.B91527WAL

II.

Title.

1990

89-17429

[E]-dc20

CIP

AC

• HOR

1(1

9 S 7 6

THE WALL by Eve Bunting illustrated by Ronald Himler

Clarion Books

New

York

This

is

the wall,

my grandfather's wall. On

it

are the

names

of those killed in a war, long ago.

"Where

is

Grandpa's name?"

I

ask.

"We have to find it," Dad says. He and I have come a long way slowly, searching.

for this

and we walk

W'^

4

,>-«'<«?,

^*PI***^-

The wall and me.

is

black and shiny as a mirror. In

it I

can see Dad

i-

I

can see the bare trees behind us and the dark, flying

clouds.

A man He

in a wheelchair stares at the

names.

doesn't have legs.

I'm looking, and he sees

me

looking and

smiles.

"Hi, son."

"Hi."

His hat are medals

and

is

a soft,

on

his shirt

is

it.

squashed green and there

His pant

legs are folded

a soldier's shirt.

back

-^}\

A woman old as my grandma is hugging a man, old as my grandpa would

be.

They

are both crying.

"Sh," he whispers. "Sh!"

v.***-^^

Flowers and other things have been laid against the wall.

There are

little

flags,

an old teddy bear, and

letters,

weighted with stones so they won't blow away. Someone has

left a

rose with a droopy head.

"Have you found Grandpa yet?" "No," Dad

They

That's

Dad like

I

I

ask.

"There are so many names.

are listed under the years

killed. I've

and

says.

when

they were

found 1967."

when my grandpa

died.

runs his fingers along the rows of print do, too.

rows of

The

letters

side by side,

They're nice and even.

soldiers.

better printing than

march

I

can do. The wall

is

It's

warm.

Dad

is

searching and searching.

"Albert A. Jensen,

Charles Bronoski,

George Munoz," he mutters. His fingers stop moving. "Here he

"My

grandpa?"

I

is."

ask.

Dad nods. "Your grandpa." His voice blurs. "My dad. He was just my age when he was killed." Dad's rubbing the name, rubbing and rubbing as

wants to wipe the

way

He

it

lifts

away.

it

Maybe

so

I

can touch

it,

he

he just wants to remember

feels.

me

if

too.

We've brought paper. Dad puts ters

and rubs on

it

it

over the

let-

with a pencil so the paper

goes dark, and the letters show up white.

"You've got parts of other guys' names on there, too,"

I

tell

him.

/^j^

\

«%

Dad

looks at the paper. "Your grandpa won't mind."

"They were probably

friends of his anyway,"

I

say.

Dad nods. "Maybe so." A man and a boy walk past. "Can we go to the river now, Grandpa?" the boy asks. "Yes." The man takes the boy's hand. "But button your jacket.

It's

cold."

My A

r

dad stands very

bunch of big

path.

"Is this

them asks

is

with his head bent.

school uniforms

come down

with them. They are

all

the

carrying

little flags.

wall for the dead soldiers, Miss Gerber?" one of in a loud voice.

"The names all

girls in

Their teacher

more of those

still

are the

names of the dead. But the wall

of us," the teacher says.

is

for

Sf^

They make the time

Dad

a lot of noise just

and ask

a lot of questions

and

all

stands there with his head bowed, and

I

stand beside him.

The and

girls stick their flags in

leave.

Then

it's

quiet again.

the dirt in front of the wall

Dad puts

it

folds the

paper that has Grandpa's name on

in his wallet.

He

yucky ones they took

Dad

slides out a picture of

in school.

Mom

it

and

me, one of the

made me wear

a tie.

puts the picture on the grass below Grandpa's name.

I

It I

My

blows away. get

it

and put

face smiles

it

up

back and

at

pile

some

little

stones on top.

me from under the stones.

"Grandpa won't know who "I I

think he will,"

move

Dad

I

am,"

I

tell

Dad.

says.

closer to him. "It's sad here."

He puts his hand on my shoulder.

"I

know. But

of honor. I'm proud that your grandfather's wall." "I I

am, too."

am.

it's

name

is

a place

on

this

i

."s**,*.

But

I'd rather

river, telling I'd rather

me

have

my

»'<«•«* -**'

grandpa here, taking

me

my

cold.

to button

have him here.

jacket because

it's

to the

NOTE The Vietnam

Veterans Memorial honors the

men

and women of the armed forces of the United States

who served in the Vietnam War. On it are Hsted the names of those who gave their hves and those "missing in action."

The Memorial

is

located in Washington,

the long, black wall are

D.C.

On

more than 58,000 names.

cv^R!0/^

FPT>>$S.TS

* "A father and his young son have come to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find the They share the sadness as well as the name of the grandfather the Httle boy never knew pride of having Grandpa's name there. This moving account is beautifully told trom a young

*

child's point

of view."

— The Horn Book Magazine, starred review

"Himler's intense, quiet watercolors capture the dignity of the setting

story reaches right to the heart of deep emotions

— ALA *

"(It) captures the

who

lost

loved ones

meaning of the memorial

A

sensitive

as

Bunting's

a quiet, respectful exposition."

to the

Booklist, starred

American people,

review

especially to those

and moving picture book."

— School An ALA Notable Book

Library Journal, starred

review

'

ISBN D-3TS-bBT77-2 90000

OmSTDTE l-iabl3

Jacket art copyright

©

1990 hy Ronald Himler

9

D

780395"629772