Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Washington Monument at National Mall and Memorial Parks.

Quick Facts

Location:

Washington, DC

Significance:

Memorial to US service members who died in service in the Vietnam War

Amenities

3 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Public Transit, Wheelchair Accessible

Dedicated in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was a revolutionary minimalist design for a war memorial. From afar, the memorial appears as a gash on the landscape, an unhealed wound. The names of over 58,000 servicemembers who gave their lives between 1956 and 1975 are listed on the wall in chronological order starting and ending at the center of the wall.

Guidebooks at the entrances to the memorial can help visitors find a specific name, corresponding to the panel number at the base of each panel and the row as counted from the top of the panel.

According to a 2019 audit by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, 58,395 names are on the wall, but due to corrections, duplicates, or individuals who lived or are of unknown status, the wall represents 58,281 individuals.

Beside each name is a symbol that denotes a service member’s status: either missing or confirmed dead. On the west wall, the symbol precedes the name; on the east wall, the symbol follows the name.

Several related features are located nearby the wall, including the Vietnam Women's Memorial, "The Three Servicemen" statue, the flagpole representing the branches of the military, and the "In Memory" plaque which honors those who served in Vietnam and later died as a result of their service.

Designer: Maya Ying Lin

Inscriptions

Apex panel, top
1959
IN HONOR OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES WHO SERVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR. THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AND OF THOSE WHO REMAIN MISSING ARE INSCRIBED IN THE ORDER THEY WERE TAKEN FROM US.
Apex panel, bottom
1975
OUR NATION HONORS THE COURAGE, SACRIFICE AND DEVOTION TO DUTY AND COUNTRY OF ITS VIETNAM VETERANS. THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT WITH PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. NOVEMBER 11, 1982
Flag base
This flag represents the service rendered to our country by the veterans of the Vietnam War. The flag affirms the principles of freedom for which they fought and their pride in having served under difficult circumstances.