There are more than 58,000 U.S. service members whose legacies are sketched into the Vietnam War memorial, which was unveiled 40 years ago this Veterans Day.
Prior to the memorial’s unveiling in 1982, the roughly 3 million U.S. service members who served in the military during the Vietnam War came home to a largely unwelcoming crowd nationwide as the public disagreed with the war. Public sentiment regarding U.S. involvement in Vietnam was an obstacle for those who were in support of a memorial.
Years later, when the organizers of the memorial were planning it, they knew “the memorial itself could make no political statement about the war,” Robert Doubek, a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
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“I think one of the most important things that we went through was the fact that when we were planning for the memorial, we knew that the war itself had been very controversial,” he added. “And our sense was that the country seemed to be continuing to fight the battles over the war. And the veterans were being lost in this shuffle.”
Doubek, a veteran of the war, called the anniversary “a major milestone,” in part because many Vietnam War veterans are “approaching the end of their lives.” It also has “deep meaning for me,” he said, adding, “I’m proud of my role in creating it, but I’m humbled by the immense pain and sacrifice that it represents.”
The foundation, which played an integral role in the memorial’s development, was founded in 1979, and the memorial, known as the Vietnam Wall, was opened to the public three years later.
“It was unconventional. The argument was, ‘Why are all the other monuments in Washington white, and this one’s black?'” veteran Jan Scruggs, who is also the founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, told DOD News a couple of years ago. “They viewed the color black as making a political statement about the relative merits of the war.”
The fund played a critical role in changing public perception of not necessarily the war but the troops themselves.
“It has had, in my opinion, a profound effect on the soul of our nation for our country,” Doubek added. “It’s a sacred place of healing. Remember, it’s an homage for veterans of families and all Americans. I’d also say the memorial has played a pivotal role in a cultural shift in our country and separating the war from the warrior.”
Gary Todd, a retired Marine who served in Vietnam, didn’t have the negative experience upon his return to the states, he told the Washington Examiner.
“I do have to say that there were many people that were treated with anything but respect or appreciation when they came back from Vietnam. That was not my case. I was there from June of [19]65 through July of [19]66,” he said. “When I came back, I didn’t have any problems going through airports as some did. I did not have any repercussions when I got back to my hometown. In fact, the mayor of the city, who I had met many years before, had a parade and asked me to be the grand marshal.”
Todd was among 30 veterans who live in Hawaii who traveled on the first Honor Flight from the state the week of Veterans Day. The Honor Flight organization is a nationwide group that helps transport World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the monuments dedicated to their service. The organization has helped transport more than 250,000 veterans to D.C. since its founding in 2005.
Todd had been to the Vietnam Wall once before, but he said he was looking forward to seeing it again so he could find the names of his fellow service members who did not make it home.
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“I had several platoon mates from Paris Island who I know were killed in Vietnam,” Todd said. “Part of my duties as the chaplain’s aide was to work in graves registration. … I didn’t have to do it a lot, but it just surprised me that they were there, and we took care of them, and we sent them back. A friend of mine from my hometown … also died in Vietnam … but I haven’t seen those names on the wall.”
In the lead-up to Veterans Day, the fund started to read the 58,281 names inscribed on the wall starting on Monday. The last name will be read just before midnight on Thursday night, concluding the readings just before Veterans Day begins. There is a scheduled ceremony on Friday to commemorate the holiday.
