More than 58,000 men and women made the ultimate sacrifice during the long and complicated Vietnam War. Then, instead of receiving a hero’s welcome upon their return, those who survived were often shunned and blamed for the unpopular war. In the late 1970s, a veteran named Jan Scruggs, who had been wounded in the war, set out to build a memorial for his fallen comrades in hopes that it would bring healing and closure to those who had lost loved ones in the war and also to our wounded and divided country.

Like the war itself, the Memorial was initially controversial, but Scruggs, who started the Vietnam Memorial Fund with $2,800 of his own money, worked tirelessly to obtain funding and support. Eventually, he convinced Congress to grant the Memorial a site on the Washington Mall.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial  cost $8.4 million, all of which was donated, and was was opened to the public on November 13, 1982.

Experiencing The Wall

When Maya Lin’s black granite wall design won the national Memorial design contest, many objected to it, fearing that the finished product would appear like a “black gash of shame” on the Washington Mall. However, when the Memorial opened and people began experiencing it, they discovered its healing power. Currently, 58,245 names of service members killed and missing in action are inscribed on it.

About The Wall

The awesome size and scope of The Wall coupled with the thousands of names carved into it  make a visit a very emotional experience. The Wall consists of 70 shiny black granite panels and is actually two walls, 246 feet 8 inches each, which meet at a 125 degree vertex. The walls point to the northeast corners of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The walls are slightly more thna ten feet high at the vertex and taper almost to ground level at the ends.

The names are listed in chronological order starting at the top of the vertex on the east wall under the date 1959, the year of the first casualties. The names continue down that panel, then onto the top of the next panel to the east and so on to the small end of the east wall. Then the names continue, starting at the lowest part of the west panel and moving back toward the vertex, finishing with the date 1975, the year of the last casualties.

Visitors to The Wall will find the surroundings of The Wall to be peaceful and surreal. The Wall seems to almost rise out the earth. While there are often large crowds at The Memorial, it is a quiet place where an air of reflection and reverence is felt by visitors. People speak in slightly hushed tones, but all seem to have a look of amazement about them as they wonder about the grounds.