The founders of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are asking for help putting faces with the names of fallen veterans listed on the wall in Washington, D.C.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the memorial, is creating a virtual Wall of Faces at a proposed $130 million Education Center at The Wall.
“We are attempting to find a photograph for every one of the 58,318 names on the wall,” said Tim Tetz, director of outreach for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
On Friday, Iowa was named the 23rd state to have found photos for all its residents listed on the wall, he said. Illinois, however, is among the states with the most photos still needed. That is largely due to the large quantity still needed in Cook County, he said. The Illinois Press Association is working to help find photos for the remaining names of soldiers in the state.
About 52,000 photos already have been collected and are available to view online at https://www.vvmf.org. Tetz said this campaign is critical to preserving the legacy for these veterans, and translates the warrior from that era to modern day.
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“The average age (of the people who served) was 20 years and nine months,” Tetz said.
Most people in today’s younger generation “don’t realize (those who served during Vietnam) had lettermen’s jacekts and drove fast cars and had girlfriends,” he said.
The photos, especially those in yearbooks, drive home the personality of the people who served, and help “drive home the story,” he said.
“Our mission now is to try to improve on the photos that we have,” he said.
Approximately 21,000 of the photos collected are considered poor quality. People who know anyone killed during the Vietnam War are asked to search online and to submit better quality photos if they can, he said.
The Education Center at The Wall is in the fundraising stage, with renderings available online. It will be located directly across the street from the memorial, adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall.
There were 3 million Americans who served in Vietnam, with 9 million who served in the military during the era, according to the memorial’s website. Approximately 5.6 million visitors come to the memorial each year having left behind more than 400,000 items.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter.
Although Cook County has too many names to list, here are the names of the suburban counties with missing photos of fallen veterans:
Kane and DuPage counties
Stanley D. Montgomery (St. Charles), Larry D. Ehlers (Algonquin), Charles Johnson (Batavia), Stephen P. Mitchell (Carpentersville), Michael A. Young (Huntley), William W. Bishop (Montgomery)
Lake County
Jimmy C. Bower (Antioch), Martin P. Eastham (Fox Lake), Howard L. Flament (Wadsworth), Robert J. Hawks (Antioch), Jack P. Jones (Mundelein), Ronnie R. Landers (Mundelein), Erhardt W. Mathiesen (Waukegan), Terry A. Patterson (Waukegan), Bobby D. Seay (Waukegan)
Will County
Glen A. Jackson III (Lockport), Ronald Johansen (Joliet), John A. La Bundy (Park Forest), William C. Moon (Joliet), Charles L. Morrison (Romeoville), Alvin L. Pemberton (Joliet), James A. Slagel (Joliet), Timothy J. Sweeney (Romeoville)
Anyone who has photos of these people, or who knows friends and family who may have photos are encouraged to contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Photo submission can be done online or through the mail, with instructions available at https://www.vvmf.org, or by calling 202-393-0090. Names of veterans in other counties and states can be searched online.