Procedure for Army Wall Additions to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
1) The next of kin must submit a request for the
above action in writing,
and mail copies of all service records (including the DD 214 and death
certificate) to the following address:
Human Resource Command
ATTN: AHRC-PTO-P
1600 Spearhead Division Avenue
Fort Knox, KY 40122
2) In order for a Service member to have his or
her name added to the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the following criteria must be satisfied:
A Service member must have:
6.5.2.1. Died in Vietnam between November 1, 1955,
and December 31, 1960; or
6.5.2.2. Died in the defined combat zone on or after
January 1, 1961; or
6.5.2.3. Died as a result of wounds (combat or hostile
related) sustained in the combat zone;
(Editor's Note: The man's death certificate and other medical records must
clearly specify the death was caused by combat or injury in Vietnam. Causes of
death which will not qualify include PTSD, Agent Orange, diabetes, cancer,
and heart attack.)
or
6..5.2.4. Died while participating in, or providing direct
support to, a combat mission immediately en route to or returning from a target
within the defined combat zone.
6.5.3. For clarification purposes on the above criteria, there is no requirement
that the Service member was killed in action or that the cause of death was
combat related.
(Please
see DoD 1300-.18)
2) PTO Liaison will complete a FOIA request for all
medical records.
3) PTO Liaison will build a packet containing both the
medical records and Service records of the deceased service member.
4) PTO Liaison sends packet to the Office of the
Surgeon General for opinion. Once opinion is received a service
determination is made by PTO on whether service member is eligible to have their
name inscribed on the VVM.
5) The completed packet is submitted to the
Directorate For Information, Operations and Reports (otherwise known as WHS) and
approves eligibility based on recommendation from Service. They also
update the Casualty database at that time.
6) PTO Liaison submits to the
Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund (VVMF) who in turn lets the family know the next
steps.
7) PTO Liaison/ sends a letter to the requester on the
determination made and next steps if name is to be inscribed on the VVM.
8) If a loved one is not eligible to have their name placed on the
VVMW, there is another program call "In Memory." This program is
designed to honor those veterans and civilians whose names are not on the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial but who died as a result of their experiences in
Vietnam. The PTO Liaison has applications for that program and can
send to the family member. VVMF's In Memory program honors those who died
as a result of the Vietnam War, but whose deaths do not fit the Department of
Defense criteria for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington,
D.C. Every year, there is a ceremony to pay tribute to these men and women
who sacrificed so much for their country. The ceremony is held on the third
Monday in April: In Memory Day. During the In Memory Day ceremony, the names of
all the honorees are read aloud. At the conclusion of the ceremony, family and
friends take special tributes honoring their loved ones down to The Wall. These
certificates bear the honoree's name, photo and other information. The tributes
are collected by the National Park Service and stored in the permanent archive.
In addition, the honorees are included in an In Memory Honor Roll Book to serve
as a lasting reminder of their service and sacrifices. Nearly 2,000 individuals
have been honored through the In Memory program. If you know of anyone
whose death was related to Vietnam War involvement and you would like to honor
them through this program, please complete an In Memory application and return
it to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund along with a copy of the death
certificate, proof of service in Vietnam*, a clean photograph of the honoree and
a short biography. For more information about the In Memory Day ceremony,
visit the VVMF Web site at www.vvmf.org. For a
copy of the In Memory application, download the online version or contact VVMF
at (202) 393-0090 or via e-mail at vvmf@vvmf.org.
Point of contact for additional information regarding this topic can be reached at 502-613-8225.
