Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial remembers the lives, sacrifice, and bravery of the men and women who fought the Vietnam War.
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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors over 58,000 U.S. veterans who fought in the Vietnam War. The memorial consists of 2 acres of land, on which are built two stone walls etched with the names of the service members being memorialized. The walls come together at an angle, and there is a path that runs alongside both walls for visitors to use as they read the names.
A short distance away from the walls is a statue of three soldiers, called “The Three Servicemen,” which depicts an African American, a European America, and a Hispanic American soldier. There is also a statue of three women nurses attending to a wounded soldier’s needs; this is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial.
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Interesting Facts
- The Vietnam War Memorial was built entirely without the use of any government funds. Over 275,000 donors including celebrities, corporations, and even labor unions contributed to the project.
- Names of veterans are still regularly submitted for review and are added to the wall every year.
- In 2007, all the names on the wall were read aloud in honor of the memorial’s 30th anniversary.
- Only 8 of the names on the wall are the names of women.
- Frequently, visitors of the memorial leave items intended to honor the fallen soldiers represented on the wall. In fact, one visitor even left a motorcycle. Park Rangers collect such items every day and take them to a storage facility that is not open to the public.