For Immediate Release
May 20, 2005

Contact: JoAnn Mangione
202-393-0090 ext.109

SECRETARIES OF VETERANS AFFAIRS & HOMELAND SECURITY
TO PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE AT THE WALL
Monday, May 30 at 1 p.m.

Four Name Additions to The Wall Will be Recognized Officially
Pat Boone to Perform Prior to the Ceremony at 12:30 p.m.

Washington, DC - Thousands of veterans and their families are expected in Washington, DC for the annual Memorial Day Observance at The Wall on Monday, May 30 at 1 p.m. at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, announced Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. 

R. James 'Jim' Nicholson, who was sworn in on February 1, 2005 as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony.   Secretary Nicholson served eight years on active duty as a paratrooper and Ranger-qualified Army officer, then 22 years in the Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel.  While serving in Vietnam, he earned the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, the Meritorious Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry and two Air Medals.

Michael Chertoff, named the second Secretary of Homeland Security on February 15, 2005, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and lay a wreath at The Wall with Admiral Thomas H. Collins for the United States Coast Guard.  In his prior role as Assistant U.S. Attorney General, he helped trace the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the al-Qaida network and worked to increase information sharing between the FBI, and state and local officials.

Also participating in the event are Rear Admiral Patrick D. Moneymaker, USN (Ret), Chief Executive Officer, Ocean Systems Engineering Corporation; Diane Carlson Evans, founder and president of the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation; Allen Kale'iolani Hoe, a Vietnam veteran who recently lost his son in Operation Iraqi Freedom; Joseph M. Lawler, Regional Director, National Capital Region, National Park Service; singer Pat Boone who will perform prior to and during the ceremony; and Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, will serve as Master of Ceremonies.  A number of patriotic and veterans organizations will participate in the wreath laying part of the ceremony following the speakers.

"We look at our Memorial Day ceremony at The Wall as a time to pay tribute to veterans from Vietnam and all wars," said Scruggs, "We will be honored this year with the presence of soldiers in Iraq and recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as our special guests.”

The names of four servicemen* below were added to The Wall last week and will be recognized officially during the ceremony, with a family member reading the names.  Also last week, symbols preceding the names of 16 servicemen on the Memorial were changed from missing-in-action to killed-in-action.
 

  • Army Private First Class John Harold Berg, Rockford, Illinois,  
    Wall Location:  48E, Line 53
  • Army Private First Class William Ellis Browning, Lutz, Florida, 
    Wall Location:  26W, Line 32
  • Army Private First Class Thomas Joseph Conners, Boston, Massachusetts, 
    Wall Location: 13E, Line 125
  • Army Sergeant Richard Edward Daly, Jr., Worcester, Massachusetts, 
    Wall Location: 51W, Line 11

The National Park Service co-hosts the Memorial Day ceremony with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.   The Memorial Day ceremony can be seen in its entirety on TVWorldwide's website, www.USVets.tv, beginning May 31.


Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the non-profit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  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.


*The Department of Defense makes all decisions about persons whose names are eligible for inscription on The Wall based on established criteria.


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