30th Anniversary of The Wall Celebrated This Veterans Day

30th Anniver­sary of The Wall Cel­e­brated This Vet­er­ans Day
VA Sec­re­tary Eric Shin­seki to Speak at Viet­nam Vet­er­ans Memorial

Wash­ing­ton, D.C.—For nearly a cen­tury, Novem­ber 11 has been a day to honor vet­er­ans. In 1919, Pres­i­dent Woodrow Wil­son pro­claimed the day the first obser­vance of what was then Armistice Day. He had this to say: “To us in Amer­ica, the reflec­tions of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the hero­ism of those who died in the country’s ser­vice and with grat­i­tude for the vic­tory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the oppor­tu­nity it has given Amer­ica to show her sym­pa­thy with peace and jus­tice in the coun­cils of nations.”

This Novem­ber 11 at 1 p.m., we will again gather at The Wall to honor all vet­er­ans, but will pay spe­cial trib­ute to Viet­nam vet­er­ans. Sec­re­tary of Vet­er­ans Affairs Eric Shin­seki will offer remarks as we mark the 30th anniver­sary of The Wall and the 50th com­mem­o­ra­tion of the Viet­nam War. Nov 28, 2012 will be the cer­e­mo­nial ground­break­ing for the Edu­ca­tion Cen­ter at The Wall, a place on our National Mall where our mil­i­tary heroes’ sto­ries and sac­ri­fice will never be forgotten.

“Every Vet­er­ans Day cel­e­bra­tion is impor­tant, but today is espe­cially mean­ing­ful for Viet­nam vet­er­ans as we gather on this hal­lowed ground to mark the 30th anniver­sary of this Memo­r­ial that has brought heal­ing and honor to the more than 58,000 lost in Viet­nam,” Jan C. Scruggs, VVMF founder and pres­i­dent, said. “Amer­i­cans ral­lied to build The Wall 30 years ago and now we are work­ing with that same spirit to tell the sto­ries behind the names on The Wall through cer­e­monies like this and by build­ing the Edu­ca­tion Center.”

We are los­ing Viet­nam vet­er­ans at an alarm­ingly fast rate. Each day we lose about 390 to ill­ness and age. Their sto­ries are in dan­ger of being lost for­ever if we don’t take action now to ensure they become a part of our col­lec­tive national mem­ory. Mil­lions visit the Viet­nam Vet­er­ans Memo­r­ial each year. Tens of thou­sands gave their lives dur­ing the many years of con­flict and their names are etched into the black gran­ite. But they are more than names and we must do our part to remem­ber them.

About VVMF and the Edu­ca­tion Cen­ter at The Wall

The Edu­ca­tion Cen­ter at The Wall is a place on our National Mall where our mil­i­tary heroes’ sto­ries and sac­ri­fice will never be for­got­ten. With a ground­break­ing planned for Novem­ber 2012, the Edu­ca­tion Cen­ter at The Wall is a multi-million dol­lar, state-of-the-art visitor’s cen­ter and learn­ing facil­ity to be built on the grounds of the Viet­nam Vet­er­ans and the Lin­coln Memo­ri­als. Vis­i­tors will bet­ter under­stand the pro­found impact the Viet­nam War had on their home­towns and the nation. The Edu­ca­tion Cen­ter will fea­ture the faces and sto­ries of the 58,282 men and women on The Wall, hon­or­ing those who fell in Viet­nam, those who fought and returned, as well as the friends and fam­i­lies of all who served.

Estab­lished in 1979, the Viet­nam Vet­er­ans Memo­r­ial Fund is ded­i­cated to pre­serv­ing the legacy of the Viet­nam Vet­er­ans Memo­r­ial in Wash­ing­ton, D.C., pro­mot­ing heal­ing and edu­cat­ing about the impact of the Viet­nam War.

Sup­port the Edu­ca­tion Cen­ter at The Wall by vis­it­ing www.buildthecenter.org or by call­ing 866–990-WALL.