ANNVILLE — The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs wants to help pay tribute to all of the men and women from Pennsylvania who died as a result of the Vietnam War, but needs help from the public.
For the past two years the DMVA has partnered with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in Washington, D.C., to find a photo of every Pennsylvanian whose name appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall — commonly referred to as The Wall. The VVMF is posting the photos on a virtual Wall of Faces in order to put a face and a story to every name, allowing these Vietnam veterans to be honored by family, friends and others from around the world.
Though progress has been made to find all 3,151 photos of service members from Pennsylvania whose names are on The Wall, there are still 105 missing. The DMVA continues to search for the remaining photos, but help from the community is needed.
“Our team, along with others, has whittled down the list considerably, but these final photos elude us,” said Brig. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general. “Our hope is that family and friends of those who died as a result of the Vietnam War can check the list and see if they might know someone they can locate a photo of to help complete the virtual Wall of Faces.”
Carrelli said the project hits home every March because of this month’s significance in Vietnam history, with March 29 being Vietnam Veteran’s Day, and with celebrating Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day on March 30.
“In March we pay tribute to the service members who served during Vietnam, and recognize the day that many arrived home,” he said. “For those who were not as fortunate, we feel the Wall of Faces is a way to show the world who these brave war warriors were beyond just their name.”
A complete list of Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans whose photos are still needed can be found by going to www.veterans.pa.gov, and clicking on Wall of Faces. Instructions on how to submit a photo can be found at http://www.vvmf.org/how-to-submit.