News Release: In Memory Day At The Wall

14 April 2008

Seventy-five American heroes will be honored posthumously during a ceremony to pay tribute to the men and women who died prematurely from noncombat injuries and emotional suffering caused directly by the Vietnam War, but who are not eligible to have their names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Tenth Annual In Memory Day Ceremony will be held on Monday, April 21, 2008, at 10 a.m. at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Nearly 1,000 family members, friends and fellow veterans will be visiting the nation’s capital to participate in this year’s event, sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

“In Memory Day allows The Wall to do what it does best: provide a healing environment for family members and friends,” said Scruggs. “When loved ones gather for In Memory Day, they meet others who have had similar experiences, and oftentimes, it helps them when they share their stories.”

The featured speaker for the ceremony will be Richard Schneider, executive director for government affairs for the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the USA, the sponsor of the event. Navy veteran Chuck Price of Austin, Colo., will perform "The Unsung Heroes"—a song about honoring and remembering Vietnam veterans.

In Memory Day
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial contains the names of 58,256 men and women who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War. The Memorial’s black granite walls have always stood to remember all of the nearly 3.5 million who participated in the divisive and controversial conflict.

“The Department of Defense developed very specific parameters that allow only the names of service members who died of injuries suffered in combat zones to be inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” Scruggs said. “The In Memory program recognizes those men and women who have died prematurely as a result of the Vietnam War, but who do not meet the criteria. Many of their deaths are a result of Agent Orange exposure and emotional wounds that never healed.” (View Dept. of Defense guidelines)

During the ceremony, family members read aloud their loved ones’ names in chronological order by date of death. Following the ceremony, participants lay tributes at the base of The Wall corresponding to the honorees’ dates of service in Vietnam, so that these Vietnam veterans come to rest near those comrades with whom they served. With the addition of this year’s honorees, more than 1,700 individuals will be honored in the In Memory Honor Roll. View 2008 Honorees

Patriots Day
The annual In Memory ceremony is held on the third Monday of April. That date was chosen specifically to coincide with Patriots Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord at the start of the Revolutionary War—the first time Americans fought for freedom and democracy.

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