For Immediate Release 
April 6, 2004 

Contact: Judy Keyserling
 202-393-0090

             
LOCAL AMERICAN WAR HEROES TO BE HONORED POSTHUMOUSLY
AT VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, DC
 In Memory Day Ceremony Recognizes Veterans Who Died But Whose Names
Are Not Eligible for Inscription on The Wall
Monday, April 19 at 10 AM

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Nearly 200 American heroes will be honored posthumously this month during the In Memory Day Ceremony that pays tribute to the men and women who died prematurely due to non-combat injuries and emotional suffering caused directly by the Vietnam War, but whose names are not eligible for inscription on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, announced Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. (View 2004 Honorees; View Webcast)

More than 1,000 family members, friends and fellow veterans are expected to visit the nation's capital to participate in the Sixth Annual In Memory Day Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 10 AM … during which time family members of this year’s honorees will read aloud the names of their loved ones in chronological order by date of death.  Following the ceremony, participants will place tributes at the base of The Wall corresponding to the honorees' dates of service in Vietnam so that these Vietnam veterans come to rest with those comrades with whom they served.  The addition of this year's honorees takes the In Memory Honor Roll up to nearly 1400 individuals.

“The In Memory program serves to honor the thousands of service members and civilians who died as a result of the war, but who are not eligible to have their names inscribed on The Wall,” Scruggs said.  “The annual ceremony brings together families and friends who have sustained similar tragedies, allowing them to share stories and to start the process of healing.”

The keynote speaker at the In Memory Day Ceremony will be Major General Roger A. Brady, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff for Force Development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, DC.  Major General Brady joined the Air Force in 1969 through the University of Oklahoma ROTC program and served in Vietnam from July 1970-July 1971.  He has been honored with the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the Air Force Commendation Medal. 

Also speaking at the event will be Richard Schneider, National Director of State/Veteran Affairs, Non Commissioned Officers Association of the USA, Alexandria, Virginia.  Mr. Schneider joined NCOA after retiring as a Chief Master Sergeant from the U.S. Air Force, where he served from 1957-1990.  His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Force Commendation Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. 

Juliana Auel, daughter of 1999 honoree Carl Alfred Auel (June 14, 1930-August 15, 1997), chaplain with the U.S. Navy - Vietnam, 1967-1968 will also make remarks and Sue Henderson, daughter of 2003 honoree Francis Lorraine Hoch (June 7, 1937-May 25, 1995), Major with the U.S. Air Force - Vietnam, 1968-1969, will sing the “National Anthem.”  U.S. Navy Veteran Chuck Price of Austin, Colorado will perform “The Unsung Hero”… a song about honoring and remembering Vietnam Veterans.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial In Memory Plaque To Be Unveiled
One of the highlights of the event will be the unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial In Memory Plaque, given there are no construction delays … making it the fifth element on the Memorial site; others being the Memorial Wall, the Three Servicemen Statue, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial and the flagpole.  The Plaque, two-feet by three-feet, will be set flush into an extension of the existing paving within the northeast corner of the Three Servicemen Statue Plaza and read “In memory of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service.  We honor and remember their sacrifice.”

In Memory Day
While the Vietnam Veterans Memorial comprises the names of 58,235 men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces who died serving in the Vietnam War, the Memorial's black granite walls have always stood to remember all of the nearly 3.5 million who participated in the divisive and controversial conflict. 

"The Department of Defense developed very specific parameters that allow only the names of service members who died of injuries suffered in combat zones to be inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Scruggs said.  "The In Memory program recognizes those men and women who have died prematurely as a result of the Vietnam War, but who do not meet the criteria.  Many of their deaths are a result of Agent Orange exposure and emotional wounds that never healed."

The Non Commissioned Officers Association of the USA, headquartered in Alexandria,VA, is Sponsor of the Sixth Annual In Memory Day Ceremony.

Patriots Day
The annual In Memory Day Ceremony is held on the third Monday of April; to coincide with Patriots Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord at the start of the Revolutionary War - the first time Americans fought for freedom and democracy.

Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the non-profit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Today, it has developed a series of outreach programs dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, to promoting healing and to educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.

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