The Moving Wall Statistics
Introduction: THE VIETNAM WAR
The word itself still stirs powerful emotions among adult Americans. The war in Southeast Asia was the longest in our nation's history
- July 1959- May 1975-
and except for the Civil War, the most divisive. Of nearly 2.7 million Americans serving in the war zone, over 58,000 men and women were killed; 300,000 were wounded; and 75,000 were permanently disabled. There are still 2,266 listed as missing in action (MIA).
For many Americans the mention of places such as Khe Sanh, la Drang, A Shau, Phu Bai, Saigon, Dong Tam, Da Nang, Quang Tri, Can Tho or An Loc evokes battles fought and lives lost- brief victories and long term agonies.
For those who served there, the sights, sounds, heat, smells, and heat of Vietnam are indelible. But Vietnam was another world, and episodes in that faraway place were difficult to explain at home. Many veterans did not discuss their experiences in Vietnam before the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Vietnam returnees found America torn by the conflict in Southeast Asia. Few who survived their tour in -"Nam" received homefront thanks or respect for the risk they took. And few who died were publicly mourned until the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. For millions the memorial has become a healing place ....
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution's"Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection and Historical Exhibit Perspective, a collection of artifacts left at the Memorial and displayed during the Rededication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, November 1992.
What are the dates 1959 and 1975 on the Wall?
1959 is the year which the Department of Defense gave as the date 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 write 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.
1975 was the year the last 18 casualties occurred. The 18 were casualties on May 15th during the operation to rescue the U.S. 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, 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 .Originally there were five names on each line, but with the addition of names, some lines now have six names. At the vertex, the walls are 6 feet in height (in Washington, 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 bottom). The West Wall, starting with panel IW (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 7OW 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 additional 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 lines.
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 in 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 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 typesetting nearly 58,000 names was prohibitive. He asked to "borrow" the negatives that the original stencils for the Wall in Washington 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 in Washington. The process John used for making the silk-screen stencils was similar to the process used in making the original stencils.
How many names are on the Wall?
As of January 1, 1997 there are 58,202 names listed on the Memorial. Approximately 1300 of these listed 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 2.7 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 an 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, Missouri. After computer processing, the names were checked manually for errors.
How many names have been added since the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated?
Eight 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 I (I983) 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-
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 I10 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, they are added as soon as possible afterwards to the Moving Wall.
How many of the names 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.
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 MIA's, 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 on 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 Eat Wall (70E), then resuming at the end of the West Wall (70W) and ending with the date 1975 and its 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 1E, Army Captain Harry Cramer was killed October 21, 1957. He is listed on line 78, panel 1E. His name was one of the 68 names added in 1983.
As reported by the Department of Defense Vital Statistics, printed in Veterans of Foreign Wars Magazine, April, 1994.
Reprinted from Vietnam Veterans of Ventura County and Ivy Lawn Memorial Park Brochure.
