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March, 10 2010 - Ohio Teacher’s Lesson Plan Teaches Students About the Faces Behind the Names
Al Hernandez, a middle school teacher in Columbus, Ohio, and a member of VVMF’s Teach Vietnam Teacher’s Network, understands the need for the Education Center at The Wall.
“To most of the students today, the Vietnam War is right back there with Ancient Egypt,” Hernandez said. “They have no idea what the Vietnam vet went through and unless you make the story personal, the kids won’t relate to it.”
Hernandez, who served in the military during the Vietnam era, was inspired by the story of Sharon Lane to teach his students more about those who served. Lane, one of the individuals whose name appears on The Wall, was a nurse from Ohio and the only woman to be killed by enemy fire during the Vietnam War. Hernandez learned of Lane’s story while researching women who served in the war, and felt a personal connection to her because she came from Ohio and was a nurse like his wife. He had the opportunity to read Lane’s name at the event held for the 25th anniversary of The Wall, a moving experience for him that prompted him to teach his students about those like Lane whose names appear on The Wall.
Each year, Hernandez has his students complete a project that involves researching stories behind the names on The Wall. He then takes them on a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and experience it in person. While there, the students make rubbings of the names they’ve researched and when they return home to Columbus, they create a replica of The Wall in their classroom using the rubbings.
Hernandez, whose two sons are in the military and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, believes the Education Center is important for both Vietnam veterans and those who serve today.
“If we forget the Vietnam War, we’re not going to remember the veterans of this current conflict,” said Hernandez. “Our generation of veterans owes it to the next generation of vets that they not be forgotten.”
Click here to read about the story of Sharon Lane. And consider using lesson plan Hernandez developed in your community or classroom to help raise awareness of the Education Center and those who are honored on The Wall.
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February 24, 2010 - Bastrop County Commissioners Court announces support of the Education Center at The Wall
BASTROP, Texas – The Bastrop County Commissioners Court on Monday approved a resolution in support of the campaign to build the Education Center at The Wall, which will put faces to the more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Education Center, an underground facility that will be built on the National Mall, will pay tribute to those who served in Vietnam and recognize the values common to all service members.
The Commissioners Court joins leaders from across the country, including the governors of seven states, who have pledged their support for the campaign to build the Education Center.
“We are grateful to everyone joining us in our effort to help future generations understand the sacrifice of those who served so honorably,” said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), the group that is spearheading the effort to build the Education Center.
At the Monday meeting of the Commissioners Court, Precinct 1 Commissioner William Piña read the resolution, which states that Bastrop County “wholeheartedly endorses the goals of the Education Center at The Wall” and calls upon citizens of Bastrop County to join the Court in supporting the campaign to build the Education Center.
Bastrop County’s Veterans Services Officer Richard Hutchins, who coordinated with the Commissioners Court to get the resolution approved, says he understands the need for the Education Center. “This is an important project to help those who are coming up behind the Vietnam generation understand what happened,” Hutchins said. “I deal with a lot of Vietnam veterans, and I think it’s important to them that they leave a legacy about what they went through and some of the folks who didn’t come home.”
To date, VVMF has raised nearly $25 million of the approximately $85 million needed to make the Education Center a reality, including the lead gift of $10 million from Time Warner. Leaders of the campaign include Chairman Peter M. Holt, owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Honorary Chairman General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), and Advisory Board Chairman Gen. Barry A. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.). The governors of seven states have signed on to join the leadership team, including those from Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, New Mexico, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, with others continuing to join.
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February 20, 2010 - VVMF President Jan Scruggs Remembers Alexander Haig - Friend, Patriot, Vietnam Veteran
Former Secretary of State Gen. Alexander Haig, USA (Ret.), died today at age 85. A career Army officer who achieved the rank of four-star general, he served in Korea and Vietnam before entering the political arena. In Vietnam, Haig was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. A lieutenant colonel who was promoted to colonel during his tour of duty, he was a brigade commander for the 1st Infantry Division (U.S.) in Vietnam.
Haig was a supporter of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and an inspiration for many of VVMF’s programs. A member of VVMF’s Corporate Council, Haig advocated the organization increasing its involvement in education. As a result, VVMF produced a teacher’s curriculum guide, a field trip guide and activated a network of educators around the country to distribute resources about Vietnam lesson planning in the schools. Haig spoke movingly at The Wall on Memorial Day 1999.
VVMF Founder and President Jan Scruggs remembers Haig:
"There were many reasons to respect Alexander Haig, but this story sticks in my mind: We were discussing his career and his decision to leave private industry—where he was making millions of dollars—to join the administration of President Reagan. Most people would have bowed to self-interest and stayed in the job that paid the most money. But Haig had nobler reasons. He said he was happy to have a chance to serve his country again, and that was more important than money.
"Alexander Haig was a serious man and a real patriot. His influence at VVMF is still being felt, and his passionate belief that we should become involved in education will benefit thousands of schoolchildren for years to come. He is a friend who will be missed by all of us."
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February 15, 2010 - Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour joins leadership team for The Education Center at The Wall
Washington, D.C. – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has joined the leadership team for the campaign to build the Education Center at The Wall, announced Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), the group that is leading the drive to build the Center.
The Education Center is an underground facility being built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., that will put faces to the more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Center will tell the stories of those who served in Vietnam and recognize the values common to all service members.
“Gov. Barbour has proven to be an effective and compassionate leader for his state,” said Scruggs. “We need leaders like him on our team and look forward to having him join the campaign.”
Barbour joins the governors of Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, New Mexico, Florida and Georgia on the leadership team for the Center. Members of the leadership team provide ideas, recruit supporters and lead grassroots efforts to raise awareness and gather photos of the individuals from their states whose names are on The Wall. Last October, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson issued a challenge to other states, vowing that New Mexico would be the first state to gather all of the photos of its fallen for the new Center.
“The Education Center at The Wall presents an opportunity to honor the sacrifice made by our veterans from Mississippi and those throughout the United States,” said Gov. Barbour. “I am proud to join the campaign and contribute to the effort to make the Center a reality.”
As a member of the leadership team, Barbour will help VVMF gather photos of the 637 individuals from Mississippi whose names are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The images being collected will be included on a Wall of Faces that will show, on their birthdays, photos of those who died or remain missing from the Vietnam War. Other exhibits planned for the Education Center will include a display showcasing some of the more than 100,000 items that have been left in tribute at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a timeline of events during the Vietnam War and a history of the creation of The Wall.
Now in his sixth year as governor, Barbour has put Mississippi on a new path in many of the major issues of the day – job creation, education, health care, energy, safer communities and stronger families. He led the effort to implement the most comprehensive tort reform in the nation, restoring balance for plaintiffs and defendants in the state’s civil justice system. Today, under Gov. Barbour’s leadership, Mississippi is emerging as a leader in using the state’s abundant resources and developing alternative, affordable and sustainable sources of energy.
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January 19, 2010 - American Legion seeks photos of county's servicemen killed in Vietnam
The Erwin Record
The local American Legion is working to collect photos of the 13 Unicoi County men killed during service in Vietnam for use in a special display planned in Washington, D.C.
Lou Thornberry, a member of Unaka Post 25 in Erwin, said the American Legion has already secured or has provisions to secure seven of the 13 needed photos – those of Richard Bannister, David Edney, Bobby Haynes, Doyle Holcomb, Douglas Jones, Bobby Shelton and Eugene Wilson.
But the American Legion still needs photos of six other servicemen: Jay Britt, Donald Cook, Donald Grubb, Johnny Ogle, Michael Tolley and Allen White. The Legion would prefer a military photo, if possible.
The collection is part of a nationwide project, Thornberry said.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is gathering photographs of the more than 58,261 men and women listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Once collected, the photos will be displayed in a planned Educational Center adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
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