ARCHIVED WEBCAST OF VVMF'S "IN MEMORY DAY CEREMONY HONORS 86 AMERICAN HEROES"
Monday, Apr. 17, 2006

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s In Memory Day Ceremony will honor 86 individuals who died as a result of the Vietnam War, but who do not meet the Department of Defense guidelines for inclusion on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. For a list of 2006 In Memory honorees by state, click here.

More than 1,000 family members, friends and veterans are expected to attend this year’s ceremony. Family members will read aloud the names of their loved ones being honored and will place tributes at the panel of The Wall that corresponds most closely to the honorees’ dates of service. Throughout the ceremony, volunteers and friends will read the names of all 1,515 past honorees.

Speakers and Performers

• Tim Russert, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press” and NBC Washington bureau chief
• Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
• Vikki Keys, superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks
  
• Richard C. Schneider, executive director for government affairs for the Non Commissioned Officers Association of the USA
  
• Dorothy Laughlin, mother of 2002 honoree Paul Raymond Geary
  
• Singer/songwriter Chuck Price, who will perform “The Unsung Heroes”
  
• Kera O’Bryon, who will sing the national anthem

Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Today, through a series of outreach programs, it is dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, promoting healing, educating about the impact of the Vietnam War and is building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, an underground educational facility, near The Wall.