In View: Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall

BY Pat Bradford

Published October 28, 2019


The black granite Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands in Washington D.C. inscribed with the names of the 58 313 U.S. military personnel who died in service in Vietnam/Southeast Asia and those who are still unaccounted for. The two-acre national memorial located north of the Lincoln Memorial was constructed in 1982.


A 288-foot three-fifths scale replica of the wall travels the country allowing people to see their loved one’s name without traveling to Washington. The replica memorial stands 6-feet tall at its center. It is manned 24/7 by veterans and others equipped with catalogues to locate panel and line numbers of names for visitors. A piece of paper and pencil can be used to etch the name.


The traveling wall makes less than two dozen appearances each year. It was exhibited at the Mayfaire Town Center in July 2019.