Lifes Little Secrets: The Wall or Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Frequently asked questions and answers about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

When and how was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, or The Wall, in Washington DC built?
It was dedicated on November 4, and. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), begun by Jan C.Scruggs, started the project in 1979, and work begun at the site on March 16, 1982. In just three and half years, Scruggs and many other veterans and supporters worked to convince Congress to give a two acre plot of land on the prestigious Washington National Mall to a memorial dedicated to honoring those servicee members who served during the Vietnam War, raised the necessary funds, and coordinated a celebration called "The Natinal Salute to Vietnam Veterans Week..
Who paid for the Memorial?
The Memorial Fund raised the $8.4 million entirely from private donations from more than 275,000 individuals, veterans and civic organizations, corporations, foundations, and unions. No Federal funds were used.
What were the criteria for the design?
The competion guidelines designated that the memorial should be reflective and contemplative in character. It should be harmonious with its site and with its surroundings, particularly with the national monuments in and near the area. The design must provide for the inscripktion of the names of all American military personnel who died in Vietnam during the war, including the names of those who remained unaccounted for. And it could make no political statement about the importance of the war.
How was the design picked for the Memorial.

In October 1980, the Memorial Fund announced that there would be a national design competition open to any U.S. citizen, 18 years of age or above, with a March 31, 1981 deadline. 1,421 total design entries had been submitted. All designs were reviewed anonymously by a jury of eight internationall recognized artists and designers. On May 1, 1981, the jury selecterd entry number 1,026 unanimously as the one best meeting the spirit and format requirements of the competition.
Who designed the winning entry, which has come to be known simply as 'The Wall'?

Maya Lin, born in Athens, Ohio in 1959 designed The Wall as an undergraduate at Yale University for an architecture class. She has since gone on to design many marvelous works of art, which like The Wall, are abstradct and contemplative in nature, including the Civil Rights Memorial built in Montgomery, Alabama and the Wave Field at the University of Michigan. An Oscar-winning documentary entitled "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" was made about her.
What was Maya Lin's concept of the Memorial?

Quoting from the statement ented with Maya Lin's Submission:
"kWalking through this park, the Memorial appears as a rigt in the earth. A long, polished, black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. Approaching the Memorial, the ground slopes gently downward and the low walls emerging on either side, grosing out of the earth, extend and converge at a point below and ahead. Walking into this grassy site contained by the walls of the Memorial, we can barely make outh the carved names upon the Memorial's walls. These names, seemingly infinite in number, convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole. The Memorial is composed not as an unchanging monument, but as a moving composition to be understood as we move into and out of it. The passage itself is gradual; the descent to the origin slow, but it is at the origin that the Memorial is to be fully understood. At the intersection of these walls, on the right side, is carved the date of the first death. It is followed by the names of those who died in the war, in chronological order. These names continue on this wall appearing to recede into the earth at the wall's end. The names resume on the left wall as the wall emerges from the earth, continuing back to the origin where the date of the last death is carved."
What, besides The Wall, are the other elements of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial?

A sculpture of three servicement on patrol was dedicated on Veterans Day 1984, and was designed by Frederick Hart. A flag pole that lies the American Flag 24 hours a day was dedicated at the same time. At the base of the Flagstaff are the seals of the five military services, with the following inscription: "This flag affirms the principles of freedom for which they fought and their pride in having served under difficult circumstances." The Vietnam Women's Memorial Project dedicated a statue of three women, one of whom is tending to a wounded serviceman, which was designed by Glenna Goddacre and decicated on Veterans Day 1993.
How many dames are on the Memorial?

At the dedication in 1982, there were 57,939 names inscribed on the Memorial. As of this date there are 58,266 names. These are all names of military personnel who were killed in Vietnam between 1956-1975. (1959 and 1975 are the years inscribed on The Wall and the first casualty on Panel 1, line 1 dates from 1959. However, several additions have been made to include casualties from 1956 and 1957.
How were the names obtained?

The Department of Defense (DOD) compiled a list of combat zone casualties according to Presidential Executive Order #11216, handed down by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 24, 1965. It specified Vietnam, and adjacent coastal waters, as a combat zone. This zone was expanded to include Laos and Cambodia, and air force bases in Thailand.
How are the names arranged?
The names are in chronological order, according to the date of casualty (which is not necessarily the date of death, but rather the date from the point of injury which lead to the death). As prscribed by Maya Lin, the designer, this grouped the names of those service members who died together to forever have their names linked by proximity.
How can you find a name, if the listing on The Wall is not alphabetical?

You must refer to a data base which gives the names in alphabetical order and includes the position on the Memorial. This can be in the form of a book, "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names" oror one of the various diffent databases including the link at the end of the FAQ's.
Are there any women's names on the Memorial?
The names of eight women are included on The Wall, all nurses, seven from the Army and 1 from the Air Force.
How many Medal of Honor recipient names are on The Wall?
There are no Medal of Honor recipients named on the Wall.
How many chaplains are on The Wall?
16 total; seven Catholic, seven Protestant, and two Jewish clergy are listed on The Wall.
Are there any names of persons with foreign homes of record?
137 persons listed foreign countries as their home of record (This is not place of birth or actual residence necessarily, but sometimes place at which the person wanted to be discharged. For example, even though only one person listed Ireland as his home of record, extensive research has shown that 16 additional names included on The Wall have been confirmed a Irish-born soldiers.) The countries listed include: Australia, 1; Bahama Islands, 1; Bolivia, 1; Brazil, 1; Canada, 56; Columbia, 1; Costa Rica, 1; England, 3; France, 2; Germany, 7; Ireland, 17; Italy, 1; Jamaica, 2; Japan, 2; Mexico, 5; New Zealand, 2; Pacific Island, 1; Panama, 2; Peru, 1; Philippines, 27; Puerto Rico, 1; Switzerland,1
Are ther names of people on the Memorial who are still alive?
Yes. There is no definitive answer to exactly how many, but there could be as many as one names of personnel who survived, but through clerical errors, were added to the list of fatalities provided by the Department of Defense. One person, whose name was added as late as 1992, had gone AWOL immediately upon his return to the U.S. after his second completed tour of duty. His survival only came to the attention of government authorities in 1996. His name has been removed from the "Directory of Names."