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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Governor Beshear Calls on Kentuckians to Support Education Center at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
Center will feature photos of Vietnam War Fallen, including more than 1,000 Kentuckians
FRANKFORT Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear invoked the sacrifice of more than 1,100 Kentuckians in the Vietnam War, and the memory of all those who served during that conflict, in announcing that he has joined the leadership team of The Education Center at The Wall.
“With Memorial Day upon us, I am proud to join in this effort to honor and recognize those who sacrificed everything for our country,” Governor Beshear said today at the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “For more than 240 years, Kentuckians have never hesitated to answer their country’s call to service, and we shall certainly do no less now.”
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.
“We are elated to have Gov. Beshear’s support in this campaign,” said Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. “As a part of our membership team, he will work to honor Kentucky’s veterans who lost their lives in Vietnam by sharing their stories with future generations.”
Scruggs noted that Kentucky is a national leader in securing benefits and provides services to many of its 339,000 veterans, including 115,300 Vietnam-era veterans. In addition to operating three veterans nursing homes and three state veterans cemeteries, Kentucky established an award-winning program for homeless veterans and one for women veterans.
Gov. Beshear joins 20 other governors 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.
Today, he called on Kentucky’s major Veterans Service Organizations, including the Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and others, to help the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund gather photos of the 1,058 individuals from Kentucky whose names are on the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial. (There are 1,102 names on the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial because it has a broader definition of state resident than the national memorial does.)
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 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.
Governor Beshear has supported and signed bills to benefit Kentucky’s veterans every year since his election, including restoring veterans’ preference in state hiring, approving state funding for expansion of one veterans nursing home and construction of a fourth, and identifying combat experience in veterans charged with crimes to ensure they have access to appropriate assistance.
By joining the leadership team, Gov. Beshear is helping future generations learn about an important time in our nation’s history. Currently, nearly $25 million has been raised, including the lead gift of $10 million from Time Warner. VVMF has received donations from corporations, organizations, veterans groups and individuals. For more information on the Center, visit www.buildthecenter.org.
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War. Authorized by Congress, its most recent initiative is building The Education Center at The Wall, an underground facility near the Memorial that is designed to add faces to all the names on The Wall and tell their stories. Other Memorial Fund initiatives include educational programs for students and teachers, a traveling Wall replica that honors our nation's veterans and a humanitarian and mine-action program in Vietnam.
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