The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has announced a National Call for  Photos, a campaign to collect a photograph for each of the 58,272 men and  women whose names are inscribed on Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund was established by private citizens in  1979, and raised the money to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.  The VVMF is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial  in Washington.

The VVMF’s most recent initiative is building the Education Center at The  Wall, an underground facility near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that will  help visitors discover the stories of those whose names are inscribed on The  Wall.

According to the VVMF’s website, the VVMF currently has no photos for 35,000  of the 58,272 of the men and women whose names are on The Wall. That means there  are no photos for 60% of the names inscribed on The Wall. We can change  that.

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  George  Santayana, Reason in Common Sense (1905)

The Education Center at The Wall will be the centerpiece of a multi-faceted  education program that encourages learning before, during, and after a visit to  the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Education Center will help to put the names on The Wall in context, and  it will enhance the experience of visiting The Wall for current and future  generations by teaching about the Vietnam War, its national significance and the  impact The Wall has had on American culture.

Interactive exhibits and primary resource materials will be enable visitors  to better understand the profound impact the Vietnam War had on family members,  home towns, communities and the nation.

Exhibits will include a wall of photographs and the stories of those who gave  their lives during the Vietnam War. There will also be a selection of the more  than 150,000 items that have been left at The Wall, a timeline of the Vietnam  Era, and a history of The Wall itself.

In addition to the physical exhibits, The Education Center will have  internet-based resources that will allow visitors to gain a better understanding  of the Vietnam War, and to get a more complete picture of this important time in  history.

How can you help?

Go to www.vvmf.org/thewall and do a search for either someone you  knew whose name is on The Wall, or search for those from your hometown.

If you don’t have a photo of the serviceman or woman, contact your friends  and neighbors and ask them if they have photographs or further information.

Visit local libraries to research high school yearbooks and archives, which  may contain newspaper obituaries with photographs.

Contact local veterans’ organizations and request assistance in locating  photographs of the casualties from your local area.

• Vietnam Veterans of America  (VVA)
• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)  Posts
• Military Order of the  Purple Heart 
• American Legion Posts

Ask your local veterans’ organizations to announce the Call for  Photos project in their newsletters and websites.

Ask your local media to help publicize the Call for Photos.

Request assistance from your local elected officials and from your state  legislators.

Contact any local college Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) units or high  school Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) units.

In 1982 the American people helped The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund  complete an impossible mission – to heal a nation and bring comfort and solace  to a generation of Veterans.

Today the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is working to complete this mission  by building The Education Center – and once again the VVMF needs your help.

For the family and friends of those whose names are on The Wall, a visit to  The Wall is like a pilgrimage to a sacred place. To the family and friends of  those who are still Missing In Action, a visit to The Wall is like a visit to  the cemetery: it is the only place they can go to find closure.

The Education Center at The Wall will be a place on our National Mall where  the sacrifice made by all of those whose names are inscribed on The Wall will  never be forgotten.

The Center will educate our children and grandchildren about the Vietnam War.  It will bring The Wall to life for all future generations – telling the story of  the Vietnam War by telling the personal stories of those whose names appear in  it.

There are several ways you can contribute a photo of one of the men and women  whose names are inscribed on The Wall.

Scan and upload the photograph from home
On The Virtual Wall website, find the service member’s profile page and click on  “Post a Remembrance.” Complete the required information and choose “Attach an  Image from My Computer.” Click on “Next Step” to review the remembrance before  submitting it for approval.

E-mail your scanned image to VVMF:
If you have  a scanner at home, you can e-mail it as an attachment (jpg, jpeg, or gif  preferred) to vvmf@vvmf.org  with the subject “Call for Photos.” In the body of the e-mail, make sure to  include the service member’s name, your name, a password, and any other  information you would like included in the remembrance.

Mail a copy of your photograph to VVMF
Make a  copy of your photo. VVMF does not want original photos and cannot be  responsible for returning photos to donors. When having the photo copied,  ask the photo professional to make it the highest quality possible, use a glossy  finish and reproduce the photo at an 8 x 10 size, if possible.

Fill out the photo submission form and package it up for  mailing with the copy of the photo. When mailing, please indicate on the front  of the envelope that a photo is enclosed. Mail to:

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Attn: Call for Photos
2600 Virginia  Avenue, NW Suite 104
Washington, D.C. 20037

For more information  about how to add a photograph to the collection, please contact

Martin Kobylarczyk at (202) 393-0090 or via email at vvmf@vvmf.org.

Visit www.buildthecenter.org to learn more about the Education  Center and the proposed Wall of Faces exhibit.