Vietnam memorial celebrates 20th anniversary: this Veterans Day marks an especially poignant anniversary over and above its normal importance. Twenty years ago this month the nation paid fitting tribute to the 58,229 Americans who died in the Vietnam War. As the pictorial reminds us, VFW played an instrumental role in making it all happen

Ten years after America's war ended, the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated to the 58,229 Americans who died in Indochina. An estimated 150,000 people crowded the Mall in Washington, D.C., to observe five days of ceremonies that began on Nov. 10, 1982. Most were veterans and family members of the dead.

VFW played a "definitive and extensive role" in making the memorial possible, according to Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund President Jan Scruggs: "I needed money to get interest stimulated, and VFW was the only organization in Washington to come forward with money. Then VFW had fund-raising dinners, and everywhere I went VFW was right in the middle of it and actually contributed $300,000. VFW also stood by us, and we added a statue and the flag. I am really lost for words to thank VFW for all the help it has given us. Individual members are the most wonderful people I have ever met in my life."

When National Salute II rolled around in 1984, VFW was the only veterans group to contribute toward the statue dedication. Some $10,000 was given to pay for entertainment, which Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons turned over to the committee to defray operating expenses.

Then-Commander-in-Chief Billy Ray Cameron, Marine Vietnam veteran, spoke at the statue dedication: "Like many of you, I have friends and comrades here memorialized--mute yet immortal. To me, this memorial has served its highest purpose: to reunite our beloved America with her bravest and best from the Vietnam era--the living as well as the dead and those still not returned from Southeast Asia.

"Speaking for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and our Ladies Auxiliary, we have always held to the ancient wisdom that says hate the war, yet honor the warrior. Jan Scruggs, you have performed a healing miracle."

Years later, an exact half-scale replica of the memorial was created by the Memorial Fund. It was dedicated in November 1996 and sent on tour across the country. "Maybe this is the way," Scruggs said, "to reach out and get high school kids interested in the Vietnam War and American history."

The 1997 tour was nationally co-sponsored by VFW and Turner Broadcasting System's TNT cable channel as part of its national veterans campaign known as "Operation TNT" VFW was invited to be a co-sponsor as a means of furthering its commitment to community service. VFW's name and logo were prominently shown on the truck transporting the wall.

Now, 20 years after the dedication, VFW remains fully involved with memorial outreach efforts aimed at educating the young about the 2.6 million Americans who served in Vietnam (see sidebar).

VFW's presence will be prominent for the 20th anniversary. An information tent will provide VFW programs materials, as well as promoting the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project. VFW service officers will man an additional booth.

Fifty wounded Vietnam vets are attending ceremonies courtesy of VFW, and VFW national officers will read some of the names on the memorial. Also, VFW's Connecticut Senior Color Guard ("Silent Sixteens") will present colors during the readings.

"This is the least we can do to honor the more than 400,000 Vietnam vets among our ranks," said Mike Gormalley, assistant adjutant general of VFW programs.

Alan Greilsamer, Public Relations

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

1023 15th St. N.W., 2nd Floor

Washington, DC 20005-2602

(202) 393-0090; Fax 202-383-0029

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

National Park Service Ranger Station

900 Ohio Drive, S.W.

Washington, DC 20242

(202) 634-1568; Fax 202-426-1844

To obtain a rubbing or tracing of a name, write to:

Mail Operations/Vietnam Veterans Memorial

National Capitol Parks-Central

900 Ohio Drive, S.W.

VFW Support Vietnam War Education Efforts

The real Vietnam War remains a mystery to the majority of high school students in America. Other than the distorted view offered by Hollywood, few students are rarely even exposed to realism when it comes to this war. Fortunately, many of the 4.4 million visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., each year are students--none of whom had even been born by war's end.

From just a visit to the Wall alone, these youngsters can begin to fully understand the significance of the Vietnam War. They will gain a greater respect for the veterans who fought in the nation's most controversial overseas war.

Moreover, standing silently in front of the black granite Wall, these students will get a glimpse at what the ultimate sacrifice truly means.

To capture the attention of these young minds, a 7,000-square-foot, $5 million education center has been proposed by Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). It would be built beneath the Wall.

According to Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Act (S. 281) co-sponsor, the museum would house exhibits on the war, as well as the construction of the memorial. "It will help teach these individuals about the human side of war and the impact that the Vietnam War continues to have on the United States," he told the Washington Post.