A History of The Wall

Congress designated that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial would be placed in Constitution Gardens, an area of the National Mall located between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. No federal funds were appropriated to cover the costs of the memorial. Instead Jan Scruggs, who led the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund organization, worked to obtain the entire cost of the memorial through private donations. 

When the Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982 the key note speaker was John Warner, a first-term senator from Virginia, instead of the sitting president Ronald Reagan. President Reagan would speak at the memorial later with the addition of the Three Soldiers component.

The future of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial includes an education center which will explain the context of the Vietnam Conflict as well as the meaning of the memorial.