The Vietnam Memorials History
Currently there are five memorials that honor the brave service members they are the following: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, The Three Service Men & Flag Pole, The Vietnam Women’s Memorial and the In-Memory Memorial Plaque. Inscribed on the black granite walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. The memorials are located in Washington, DC. Scrolled down to read about each memorial piece.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
The Memorial Wall is made up of two 246 foot 9-in thick long black granite walls, polished to a high finish making them appear to have a mirror effect; while etched with the names of the serviceman being honored. Each wall contains 74 separate panels, including four each end without names, for a total of 140 panels of names. The names of the first casualties appear on the top of East Panel 1 below the date "1959." The chronological listing by casualty date of the names proceeds left to right, line by line, down each panel, and then to the top line of the panel to its right, as though the panels were pages in a book, until East Panel 70, whereupon the sequence of names begins on West Panel 70, proceeding to West Panel 1 at the vertex. The last casualties are listed on the bottom line of West Panel 1 above the date "1975." As of May 2017, there are 58,318 names on The Wall. The names of eight women, all nurses, are inscribed on The Wall. Seven are from the U.S. Army; one is from the Air Force. There are 160 Medal of Honor recipients on The Wall. Sixteen clergy members listed on The Wall: seven Catholic, seven Protestant, and two Jewish. There are 120 individuals on The Wall who listed foreign countries as their home of record. The countries include: Australia, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Pacific Island, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Switzerland.
The Three Service Men
The Three Service Men statue, also known as “The Three Soldiers.” Depicts three soldiers, purposefully identifiable as European American, African American and Hispanic American. The placement of the statues makes it appear that the serviceman and the Wall are interacting with the servicemen looking on in solemn tribute at the name of their falling comrades. On November 11, 1984, the servicemen statue and a U.S. flag were formally added to the memorial.
Vietnam Women's Memorial
Honors the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. The majority of women serving during the war were nurses. The names of the three nurses depicted in the memorial are: Hope, Faith and Charity. The memorial is a reminder of the important roles that women had during the conflict. The memorial depicts three uniform women with a wounded solider. The memorial was unveiled and dedicated on 11 November 1993.
In Memory Memorial Plaque
Is in memory of the men and women who served in Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service it is to Honor and remember their sacrifice. the plaque was unveiled November 11, 2004.