The Virginia War Memorial will hold a special Open House from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27 to honor and recognize the service and sacrifice of Virginia’s Vietnam War Veterans.
The Open House will include a curator’s table of historical memorabilia from the Vietnam War era, oral history interviews of Vietnam veterans, the Memorial’s traveling exhibit, “50 Year’s Beyond: The Vietnam Veteran Experience.” There will also be continuous showings of the Memorial’s Virginians at War series of Vietnam War-related documentary films in the Reynolds Theater and docent-led tours of the inspiring Shrine of Memory-20th Century where the panels listing the Virginia service members killed during the Vietnam War are engraved.
Special 50th Anniversary Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins will be presented to all Vietnam veterans who have not yet received one. All veterans who served in any branch of the United States Armed Forces at any time between November 1, 1955, and May 15, 1975, anywhere in the world, are eligible to receive one Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin (VVLP). The VVLP was created by the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Commission. In 2024, the Commemoration Commission recognized the Virginia Department of Veterans Services as a “Top Fifty” Commemorative Partner of more than 11,000 partner organizations nationwide.
This is the ninth consecutive year that the Commonwealth and the Virginia War Memorial will commemorate National Vietnam War Veterans Day, which is observed on March 29 each year. Admission and parking are free at the Memorial. Members of the public and especially Vietnam veterans and their families are invited and encouraged to attend the Open House event. The Memorial is located at 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220.
“Virginia is proudly home to more than 670,000 military veterans – one of the largest numbers of veterans per population size of any state – and of these, more than 200,000 served during the Vietnam War era,” said Dr. Clay Mountcastle, Virginia War Memorial Director. “Every day, here at the Virginia War Memorial, we remember the over 1,300 Virginian men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving and the over 40 who did not return and remain classified as Missing in Action (MIA). Nine brave Virginians also received the Nation’s highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, for their heroic actions serving in the Vietnam War. We honor and remember each of them in the Memorial’s Medal of Honor Gallery”.
“Vietnam Veterans have shown us how to humbly serve each other, and we are excited to join our fellow Virginians in honoring them by observing National Vietnam War Veterans Day. We look forward to showing our continued appreciation to Virginia’s citizens – our family, friends, and neighbors who answered the call to duty during the Vietnam War era,” noted Virginia Department of Veterans Services Commissioner John Maxwell.
For more information about the Vietnam War Veterans Open House and other events at the Virginia War Memorial, please visit www.dvs.virginia.gov or call 804.786.2060.
About the Virginia War Memorial
The mission of the Virginia War Memorial is to Honor Veterans, Preserve History, Educate Youth, and Inspire Patriotism in All. Dedicated in 1956, the Memorial includes the names of the nearly 12,000 Virginia heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and the Global War on Terrorism. The Virginia War Memorial is and will always be the Commonwealth’s tribute to those who served and most especially, to those who died defending our freedoms.
The Virginia War Memorial is a division of the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) and serves as an integral part of its mission in support of all Virginians who have served in ourmilitary. It is located at 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia 23220 and is open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free, except for select events. For more information, please visit www.vawarmemorial.org.
About the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS)
The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is a state government agency with more than 50 locations across the Commonwealth of Virginia. DVS traces its history to 1928 and the establishment of the Virginia War Service Bureau to assist Virginia’s World War I veterans. Today, DVS assists veterans and their families in filing claims for federal veterans benefits; provides veterans and family members with linkages to services including behavioral health, housing, employment, education, and other programs. The agency operates four long-term care facilities offering in-patient skilled nursing care, memory care, and short-term rehabilitation for veterans; and provides an honored final resting place for veterans and their families at three state veterans cemeteries. It operates the Virginia War Memorial, the Commonwealth’s tribute to Virginia’s men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice from World War II to the present. For more information, please visit www.dvs.virginia.gov.