Vietnam Memorial Wall

This Vietnam Memorial Wall picture shows the Washington Monument in the background. It is inscribed with the names of service men and women who died while fighting in the Vietnam war.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial facts:

• Groundbreaking: March 26, 1982
• Dedication: November 13, 1982
• Designer: Maya Ying Lin
• Material: Black granite
• Length: each wall is 246 feet, 9 inches long - the total length of the Wall is 493 feet, 6 inches
• Height: 10 feet, 3 inches at the center of the memorial
• Number of panels: for each wall, 70 separate inscribed panels, plus 4 at each end without names
• Number of lines per panel: 1 to 137
• Number of names per line: 5 to 6
• Cost: Construction costs of the Wall totaled approximately $4,284,000. The VVMF raised nearly $9 million in private contributions in its quest to win support and build the memorial.