The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is stepping up its efforts to raise money to build an education center near the memorial that will feature stories and pictures of the 58,000 listed on “The Wall.”
The fund on Thursday began circulating a moving YouTube video of a ceremony that took place in late March heralding the 30th anniversary of the memorial that featured stories from lawmakers such as Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., and retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey. “This simple ceremony marks the beginning of an incredible series of events extending through Veterans Day,” said Jan Scruggs, the brainchild of The Wall and education center.
Groundbreaking is to occur later this year, and a section will be devoted to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Funds are rolling in, with $3.3 million from the Australian government and expectations of greater support from U.S. firms and even Native American tribes. What’s more, Scrugg’s call for photos of those on the wall is a stunning success. He tells Secrets, “we have 30,000 photos of the 58,000 KIAs.”
Scruggs and former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., have come up an interesting way to raise money and spread the word. Visitors to the Education Center will be offered a dog tag with the name of a veteran who died in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan in return for promising to do volunteer work back home. “This encourages you to do something,” said Scruggs, and it makes the legacy of the veteran honored “much bigger.”
