Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) was set up on April 27, 1979 as a non-profit organization by Jan Scruggs and several other Vietnam War veterans, in order to create a memorial for those who died during the Vietnam War without making any political statement about the war itself. They enabled the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C..
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[edit] Funding
Jan Scruggs and the other founders of the VVMF needed funding for their memorial, but could not use government funds. They set out to collect several million dollars from private investors. Within three years of being founded, the VVMF had collected over $8 million in funds from over 275,000 investors.
[edit] Contest
In October 1980, the VVMF announced that a contest for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial open to anyone over 18 years of age. The contest was the largest of its kind ever held in the United States, with over 2,573 contestants, and was judged by eight professional artists and architects. The winner of the contest was Maya Ying Lin, who submitted the idea for a wall.
[edit] Construction
Construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial began on March 16, 1982, though the official ground-breaking was on Friday, March 26, 1982. The construction was finished in late October 1982. The memorial was formally dedicated on November 13, 1982. The Three Soldiers statue by Frederick Hart was added in 1984, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial was added in 1993.
[edit] Controversy
The various elements of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial complex on the National Mall have been a subject of numerous controversies revolving primarily around design issues, but also legal and business practices. Probably no other major US memorial has been as controversial. This perhaps partially reflects the controversial nature of the war itself.
[edit] Today
Today, the VVMF continues to support the maintenance of the Memorial, though the memorial itself is maintained by National Park Service staff and some military representatives. It also funds the addition of new names to the Wall and creating directories of names currently on the Wall.
