Keeping the wall refreshed and clean
By Linda Kreter
I still remember when I first visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Clear memory has blurred over the years, but not the first glimpse of that black granite slash of a wall with the carved names of 58,195 fallen in the jungles in Vietnam. My uncle served two tours – and I am forever grateful that his name is absent from this bold and moving memorial to courage and valor.
The Vietnam War was very controversial; the draft, the anti-war protests, the enormous body count, and residual hideous effects of Agent Orange, the defoliating agent used to clear areas to see the guerrilla fighters. The Memorial Wall itself created controversy when in an anonymous selection process, former Yale student, 21-year old Maya Lin’s design was chosen. Its cunningly simple wall design with 58,195 names carved into the granite was confusing in a town full of more traditional memorials. Later two statues were added to satisfy that debate; the Three Servicemen Statue and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Stature to offset the feelings of some that the Wall was merely a giant tombstone. Today, the Wall is one of the most visited sites in Washington, DC.
In the beginning when the wall was opened in 1982, many veterans could only bear to visit the Memorial at night; to be unseen and to privately mourn their fallen friends and memories. Some veterans have never visited the wall, and instead close the door on that part of their past. But for those that visit, most feel a fascinating need to locate, then touch or trace the name of their loved one.
Over time, those finger and hand smudges and tracings leave marks, and so does nature. The National Park Service is formally tasked with keeping the Memorial clean, but later efforts were augmented with the help of volunteers, led by veteran Jan Scruggs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, who was discouraged that bird droppings had filled in some of the engraved names. Mr. Scruggs is known to have handed 37 toothbrushes to visiting veterans one day, who then scrubbed the grime away. Today, veteran’s organizations and the Park Service work more closely together and every spring and summer weekends, volunteer cleanings take place. Mementoes left at the wall are collected daily, catalogued, and added to the Memorial Collection.
The wall is washed early in the morning, as sunrise is the rare time when the wall is not busy with visitors. Though this is a solemn task, many speak of the honor and humility they feel in reviving and refreshing the dark granite wall, making it pristine for the coming week’s visitors. Volunteers are welcomed, as are children (who are often the great-great-grandchildren of those named on the wall) who wash the lower portions of the wall where they can reach. It is not difficult physical work, but it can be intense, and even a time of draining remembrance.
Each year, over 3,000,000 visitors will come to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Powerful, sobering, proud, and very compelling – we honor our Vietnam Veterans and those whose names will be literally touched and renewed every week.
For more information on visiting or volunteering to clean the Wall, contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at www.vvmf.org, or call them at 202-393-0090.
