QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Who formed the concept
of the ~ Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC?
It was conceived by Jan
Scruggs, who served in Vietnam from 1969-70 as an infantry
corporal with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. He wanted the
Memorial to acknowledge and recognize the service and sacrifice
of all who served in Vietnam. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Inc. was incorporated on April 27, 1979 in Washington, DC by a
group of Vietnam veterans: Jan Scruggs, president of VVMF: Robert
Doubek, project director and later executive director and John
Wheeler, chairman of the board. Jan Scruggs lobbied Congress for
a two-acre plot of land in the Constitution Gardens. significant
initial support came from Senator Charles Mathias, Jr., of
Maryland and Senator John Warner of Virginia On July 1, 1980,
President Jimmy Carter signed the legislation to provide the site
near the Lincoln Memorial. It was a three and half year task to
build the Memorial and to orchestrate a celebration, under the
director of Sandie Fauriol to salute those who served in Vietnam.
The Memorial Wall designed by Maya Ying Lin, was dedicated on
November 13, 1982. The sculpture by Frederick Hart, called the
"Three Servicemen" was unveiled on November 8, 1984.
Who conceived the idea of The
Moving Wall?
The concept of building The
Moving Wall grew out of discussions by John Devitt, Gerry Haver
and Norris Shears, Vietnam veterans from California concerned
with what they could do to somehow "keep alive" and
share the good feelings that Devitt had experienced while
attending the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington, DC. At first it was decided to build a replica and
display it on the West Coast so that people who live so far from
the capital might have a chance to experience The Wall. While in
Washington, DC in February 1983. John Devitt was explaining his
project to several other veterans. One exclaimed, "What a
great idea! Is this going to be portable?" Not wanting any
"negatives" attached to the project, John simply nodded
and replied, "Yeah, it's going to be portable."
What is the official name of
The Moving Wall?
Originally, John Devitt simply
called it the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Mobile), drawing from
his own background as a helicopter crew chief in the First
Cavalry Division (Airmobile). In February 1985, while the
Memorial was on display at the State of California Veterans Home
in Yountsville, CA, the name "The Moving Wall" was
dubbed by Micki Voisard of St Helena, CA, who is a member of
Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd. and a former flight attendant with
Flying Tigers Airline. It has also been referred to as "The
Traveling Wall," "The Half-Scale Replica Wall" and
"The Healing Wall."
When did construction of The
Moving Wall begin?
Construction began in February
1983, following discussions and experimenting with various
methods of replicating the Washington, DC Memorial. Out of
several methods, John Devitt decided silk-screening was the best
way to replicate the names, making each name as legible as on the
one in Washington, DC.
When was The Moving Wall
completed?
The Moving Wall was completed
in October 1984. On Oct. 11th, the last panel was silk-screened
and mounted wet on its frame and loaded into its crate. On Oct.
15th, The Moving Wall was erected for the first time in Tyler,
Texas, where Carl McClung had heard about it seven months before
and had contacted John Devitt to schedule a date.
Who paid for The Moving Wall?
The Moving Wall was paid for,
like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, from public
contributions. To get the project started without delay, John
Devitt, Gerry Haver and Norris Shears pooled their own personal
funds, which totaled $2,500. Under normal circumstances, this
would not have been enough cash to begin a project of this
magnitude with any hope of success, but John was convinced this
was not a "normal" project. With a lot of leg-work,
John and Gerry found several trusting people who helped out by
granting these two strangers credit, based on their presentation
and promise to make good on any debts, even if they had to pay on
their own.
What are the dates 1959 and
1975 on The Wall?
1959 is the year which the
Department of Defense gave as the day in which the first American
casualties occurred. The first two men listed, Dale R. Buis and
Chester R. Ovnard (this name was a misspelling, it should have
read "Ovnand"), were military advisors, killed on July
8th in Bien Hoa while watching a movie in a mess tent. However,
after the dedication of the Memorial in November 1982, it was
learned that a Captain Harry Cramer had been killed in action in
1957. His name has subsequently been added to the Memorial but it
was impossible to change the 1959 date to 1957. The last 18
casualties occurred on May 15, 1975, during the operation to
rescue the US freighter Mayaguez and its crew.
What are the dimensions of The
Moving Wall?
Overall length of The Moving
Wall is 252.83 feet, composed of 74 separate frames, each frame
containing two silk-screened panels; each of the two walls that
make up the entire Wall are 126.5 feet in length, which is
slightly longer than half the length of the Memorial in
Washington, DC, where each wall is 246.75 feet, overall length
being 493.5 feet The tallest panels have 137 lines of names,
while the shortest panel has one line. Originally there were five
names on each line, but with the addition of names, some lines
now have six. At the vertex, the walls are six feet in height (in
Washington. DC the center panels are 10.2 feet in height).
Which wall is East, which is
West?
When facing The Moving Wall,
the East wall is always to your right, starting with panel IE
(the panel with 1959 at top, no number at the bottom). The West
wall, starting with panel 1W (the panel with 1975 at the bottom)
is to your left.
What are the numbers at the
bottoms of the panels?
The numbers identifying each
panel are used in locating a name, much like page numbers in a
book The numbers for both East and West walls start out from the
center of the Memorial to the far ends with the number 70E or 70W
at the ends. The last four panels on each end are blank These
blank panels merely finish out the artistic design and are not
locations for adding more names.
What are the dots?
The white dots are used to help
locate the line on which a name appears, and are particularly
helpful when looking for a name on the large panels. Each dot
marks 20 lines. The dots are located in the margin of each panel
having at least 20 names.
What are the symbols beside the
names?
The diamonds and pluses
indicate whether a person is confirmed dead (including those who
died from accidents and natural causes), or those missing. The
diamonds indicate that a person's death was confirmed. The pluses
indicate that a person remains missing and/or prisoner of war,
and are no way meant to be a religious symbol. A plus symbol can
be turned into a diamond if a person is declared dead or their
remains are recovered. A circle symbolizing the Circle of Life
will be inscribed around the plus if a person is brought home
alive.
What is The Moving Wall made
of?
Originally made of black
Plexiglas panels mounted to a plywood and lumber frame, then
reconstructed after two and one-half years switching to
Formica-laminated masonite panels. The Moving Wall has recently
been rebuilt. The Moving Wall is now made of .100” thick
aluminum panels, with a surface allodined and electro-painted a
gloss black which gives a mirror-like finish, mounted on angular
aluminum frames. Because of the amount of handling and the
extreme and varied weather conditions the structure was subjected
to, it was finally decided to use aluminum panels, giving the
structure the necessary durability so that it would continue to
look like the original structures when they were new. The entire
structure is supported from the back by 74 steel square-tubular
braces.
How was the process initially
done?
After attempting several
methods that proved unsatisfactory, John Devitt called Jan
Scruggs and told him that his various attempts had failed to
produce the one thing John saw as crucial: clarity of the names.
He informed Jan that silk-screening was near-exact in replicating
the 'look", but the cost of type-setting nearly 58,000 names
was prohibitive. He asked to 'borrow" the negatives that the
original stencils for the Wall in Washington. DC were made from.
Jan approved, and the stencils were loaned to John by
Cooper-Lecky Partnership, the architectural firm that supervised
the construction of the Memorial. The process John used for
making the silk-screened stencils was similar to the process used
in making the original stencils.
What happens to the articles
left at the Memorial by friends or relatives?
The artifacts, which people
leave just as they have done in Washington, DC since the
beginning, are collected, boxed and marked at each location and
then taken back to San Jose, CA. They are temporarily stored in
the Memorial Funds warehouse/office complex. When The Moving Wall
has fulfilled the needs for which it was created, a permanent
site will be developed, landscaped as in Washington, DC. A museum
will be built at the site and all the artifacts that have been
left at The Moving Wall and will be displayed in glass cases
below each state flag of states where The Wall visited.
How many names are on The Wall?
As of January 1,1997, there are
58,202 names listed on the Memorial. Approximately 1,300 of these
are still unaccounted for prisoners of war (POWs) and missing in
action (MIAs).
Are there any civilians listed
on The Wall?
No, the memorial is dedicated
to the 27 million men and women who served in the U.S. military
in Vietnam.
How were the names obtained?
During and after the Vietnam
war, the Department of Defense compiled a list of combat zone
casualties according to criteria set out in a 1965 Presidential
Executive Order (11216). The Executive Order specified Vietnam
and adjacent coastal waters as a combat zone. The combat zone was
expanded when hostilities spread to include Laos and Cambodia. If
the DOD considered a individual to be a Vietnam conflict fatality
or to be missing, his/her name would be included. The VVMF
verified the DOD list where possible, by cross-checking it
against the casualty data provided by the individual services.
Each name was then verified by the National Personnel Records
Center in St Louis, MO. After computer processing the names were
checked manually for errors.
How many names have been added
since the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated?
Nine groups of names have been
added since the Memorial was dedicated. The DOD reviewed each
case thoroughly before the names were added to the official list.
In group 1(1983), there were 68 names added; group 2(1984), 15
names; group 3 (1986), 110 names; group 4 (1987) 24 names; group
5 (1989), 19 names: group 6(1991), 8 names; group 7(1993), 8
names; group 8(1994), 5 names; and. group 9 (1996) 6 names. The
bulk of the names in the first group of 68 were marines killed
when their R&R flight crashed in Hong Kong. Those in the
group of 110 were added when the geographic criteria was enlarged
to include people killed outside the war zone (95 servicemen)
while on or in support of direct combat missions and 15 men who
had subsequently died of wounds or injuries received in Vietnam.
As names are added to the Memorial in Washington DC, they are
added as soon as possible afterwards to The Moving Wall.
How are the names arranged on
The Wall?
They are in chronological
Order, according to the date of casualty Within each day, the
names are alphabetized. For the MIAs, the date of casualty is the
date they were reported missing. The list starts and ends at the
apex, beginning at the date 1959 and the inscription of panel IE:
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.
The listing goes out to the end
of the East wall (70E1 then resuming at the end of the West wall
(70W) and ending with the date 1975 and inscription at the bottom
of panel 1W:
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.
Although 1959 is marked as the
beginning on panel IS Army Captain Harry Cramer was killed
October2l,1957. His name is listed on line 78, panel IE. His name
was one of the 68 names added In 1983.
How many of the names listed
are women?
There are eight women listed,
seven were Army nurses and one was an Air Force nurse.
How many of the names listed
are military chaplains?
There are 16 military chaplains
listed on the Memorial. Two were awarded the Congressional Medal
of Honor.
This event made
possible by the following:
City of
Leavenworth
Leavenworth
Chamber of Commerce
Der Ritterhof
Motor Inn
Leavenworth Echo
InterWest Bank
Photos of The
Traveling Wall
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