Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Website

www.nps.gov/nama/index.htm

Coordinates

Telephone

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial serves to honor the men and women who served in the Vietnam War. Consisting of 58,318 names of those that lost their lives or are missing in action, the memorial was officially dedicated November 13th, 1982.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial consists of the memorial wall, The Three Servicemen Statue, the In Memory plaque, and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial (38.891266, -77.047683)

Designed by 21 year-old student Maya Lin, one leg of the V-shaped arms points to the Washington Monument while the other stretches towards the Lincoln Memorial. The name of the first person killed in 1959 is in the upper-left corner of the right arm, while the last killed in 1975 is in the upper-right corner of the left panel. By design, the names of the first and last person killed meet in the top-center of the memorial. Those declared dead are marked with a diamond next to their name, while those missing in action are marked with a cross. Directories are positioned at both ends of the memorial so visitors can look up the names of family or friends to find the panel number and row of their etching.

The Three Servicemen Statue (38.890565, -77.048156)

Located at the western entrance to the memorial is The Three Servicemen statue, depicting 3 soldiers in combat gear, looking north towards the memorial as if protecting those that are memorializes.

Adjacent to The Three Servicemen status is the In Memory plaque that was added in 2004, and honors those that died as a result of their service in Vietnam.

Vietnam Women’s Memorial (38.890579, -77.046973)

Just east of The Three Servicemen statue in the tree line is the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. Dedicated in 1993 and sculpted by Glenna Goodacre, the bronze memorial portrays 3 women caring for a fallen soldier. They represent the 265,000-plus women who served in the military and as civilians during the Vietnam War and the 50 women who perished. Surrounding the statue are eight trees, symbolizing the eight military women that died in the war.