The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is looking for some photographs to share with visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial – often referred to simply as “The Wall” – in Washington D.C. that bears the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives for their country during the Vietnam war.
The National Call for Photos was launched last week in an effort to reach families of those honored and solicit their photographs.
The Education Center At The Wall is a project of the VVMF that is being planned for the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and The Wall, financed by donations to the fund. When completed, the underground facility will include a wall of photographs, a display of some of the more than 100,000 personal items that have been left at the memorial, a timeline of key military events of the Vietnam War and a history of the Wall.
“It is vital that we remember the individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, even as we pay tribute to everyone who served and sacrificed in all of America’s wars,” said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Memorial Fund. “When it is built, The Education Center will allow us to put faces with the names on The Wall and learn some of their stories.”
It is estimated that at least 40 percent of the visitors to The Wall are too young to remember Vietnam. The photographs – which are destined to become the centerpiece of The Education Center – are being collected across the country at FedEx Office locations, where pictures will be scanned in and forms gathering information about the service member will be collected. Photos may also be submitted directly to VVMF electronically by accessing the link here.
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, promoting healing and educating people about the impact of the Vietnam War. More than $20 million has been raised to date for the education center, including a $10 million gift from Tim Warner. It is estimated that the center will cost $85 million to build.
Other Memorial Fund initiatives include educational programs for students and teachers, a traveling Wall replica that honors veterans and a humanitarian and mine-action program in Vietnam. For more information, visit the VVMF website here.