For Immediate Release
June 23, 2005

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

GENERAL BARRY R. McCAFFREY TO SERVE
AS A CO-CHAIR OF THE CAMPAIGN TO BUILD THE
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL CENTER IN WASHINGTON, DC
New Role Represents General’s Added Support and Participation

Washington, DC – One of the most highly respected Four-Star Generals of the U.S. Army, General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) has agreed to serve as a Co-chair of the national fundraising Campaign to Build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, announced Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. 

General McCaffrey, who is a longtime supporter of the Memorial Fund and a member of its national Corporate Council, serves as chairman of the Advisory Board of veterans, historians, educators and scholars that is exploring content and exhibits for the Memorial Center.  He joins Dr. Christos M. Cotsakos, chairman of the $41.5 million Campaign, and General Colin Powell its honorary chair, in developing strategies and a solid framework to ensure a successful fundraising effort.   In the early phase of the Campaign, a large portion of the funds needed to build the Center will be raised from individuals, corporations and foundations.  Eventually, the general public will be invited to contribute, as they were with The Wall.

“General McCaffrey will be a tremendous asset to our fundraising team.  He believes deeply in the need for an educational center that speaks to current and future generations about the Vietnam War and its impact, and he is incredibly committed to building a Memorial Center that will serve as an honorable legacy to Vietnam veterans,” said Dr. Cotsakos.  “It will be a privilege to serve with him.”

“The Memorial Center will be forever relevant because it will pay tribute to the universal themes that connect veterans of all wars,” said General McCaffrey.  “The Center will personify service, sacrifice and patriotism through those who served in Vietnam and whose names are on The Wall.  When it comes to answering the call to duty, Vietnam veterans responded with pride, just like veterans before them and those who have followed.  This Memorial Center will serve as a bridge of understanding between Americans whether they served or not.  I am compelled and honored to be a part of the Memorial Center project and Campaign.”

In making the announcement, Scruggs said, “General McCaffrey has been a keynote speaker at our Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies at The Wall for decades, and he is most eloquent.  He, too, has noticed that visitors to the Memorial are growing younger and he believes strongly in our goal of personalizing the names on The Wall to provide a clearer understanding of the values they stood for.  We are grateful for his insightful participation on many levels.”

General McCaffrey is president of BR McCaffrey Associates, LLC, an international consulting firm.  He currently serves as a national security and terrorism analyst for NBC News and an adjunct professor of International Affairs at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, where he served as the Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies from January 2001 to May 2005.  He was director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy from 1996-2001.

General McCaffrey is the former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces Southern Command, coordinating national security operations in Latin America.  During his military career, he served overseas for 13 years and completed four combat tours, including two in Vietnam.  He also commanded the 24th Infantry Division (Mech) during the Desert Storm 400-kilometer left hook attack into Iraq.  General McCaffrey served as assistant to General Colin Powell and supported the chairman as the Joint Chiefs of Staff advisor to the Secretary of State and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  At retirement from active duty, he was the most highly decorated Four-Star General in the U.S. Army.

General McCaffrey twice received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest medal for valor.  He was awarded two Silver Stars and received three Purple Heart medals for wounds sustained in combat.  His other honors include the Health and Human Services Lifetime Achievement Award for Extraordinary Achievement in the Field of Substance Abuse Prevention (2004); recognition as one of the 500 Most Influential People in American Foreign Policy by World Affairs Councils of America (2004); the Department of State’s Superior Honor Award for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; and the Central Intelligence Agency Great Seal Medallion.

In November 2003, legislation (H.R.1442) was signed by President Bush, authorizing construction of the Memorial Center, stipulating that it be built underground, at or near the Memorial, and at no cost to taxpayers.  The selection process for the Center’s exact site is underway.   Groundbreaking is anticipated in 2007.

In September 2004, the design selection committee, with Maya Lin as special advisor, chose the team of Polshek Partnership Architects and exhibit designers, Ralph Appelbaum & Associates, Inc.  Among their combined high-profile projects are the Clinton Presidential Library, the underground Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. 

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, the organization works to preserve the legacy of The Wall, to promote healing and to educate about the impact of the Vietnam War.

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