For those who fought in the Vietnam war, Sunday was a very emotional day: they commemorated the 25^th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the symbol of a war that divided the American nation.

Ten thousand Veterans, family members and friends came there to pray in front of the memorial stone, a V-shaped monument of granite which has 58,256 names inscribed on it of all the Americans who were killed or missing in the Vietnam war.

“I can hardly explain how I feel. It’s a mix of sadness and pride,” said Joe Hatathle, 63, a former Army engineer in Vietnam coming all the way from Rock Point, Arizona to attend the ceremony.

The Tomb of the Unknown inside the Arlington National Cemetery was another place where veterans gathered around to celebrate the day.

“Gathered as we are today in a time of war, we’re only more sharply aware of the nation’s debt to the members of the armed forces. They are constantly in our thoughts,” said Vice President Dick Cheney laying a wreath in front of the monument.

Jan Scruggs, who came with the idea of veterans having a memorial monument where they can heal their emotional wounds caused by the war said in surprise: "It's just amazing that all of these people are coming these massive distances, after all these years, to read these names."

The monument was discovered in 1979 four years after the Vietnam War ended. Beginning with November 13, 1982 it was a place of contemplation for the people who sacrificed their lives or for the ones who are still missing.

"Veterans weren't shown the gratitude they deserved when they stepped off the plane to come home. The veterans needed a cathartic experience. But the nation needed a cathartic experience as well," Scruggs also added for the Los Angeles Times.

The monument places between Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. His creator was Maya Lin, an architecture student at Yale at the time.