Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund , Inc . ( VVMF ) , was a non - profit organization established on April 27 , 1979 , by Jan Scruggs , Jack Wheeler , and several other Vietnam War veterans , finance the construction of a memorial to those Americans who died or were killed during the Vietnam War . The memorial was not designed to make a political statement about the war itself . From this fund came the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , dedicated by U . S . President Ronald W . Reagan on Veterans Day , 1982 , on the National Mall in Washington , D . C . History . The Memorial was established by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund , Inc . ( VVMF ) , the nonprofit , charitable organization incorporated on April 27 , 1979 , by a group of Vietnam veterans led by Jan C . Scruggs , a wounded and decorated infantryman , from Bowie , Maryland . VVMF wanted Vietnam veterans to have a tangible symbol of recognition from the American people . By separating the issue of the service of the individual men and women from the issue of U . S . policy in Vietnam , VVMF hoped to begin a process of national reconciliation . Significant initial support came from U . S . Senators Charles McC . Mathias , Jr . , ( R - Md . ) and John W . Warner ( R - Va . ) . On Nov . 8 , 1979 , Sen . Mathias introduced legislation to authorize a site of national park land for the memorial . The first significant financial contributions to launch the national fundraising campaign were raised by Sen . Warner . More than $ 8 , 000 , 000 was raised , all of which came from private sources . Corporations , foundations , unions , veterans groups and civic organizations contributed , but most importantly , more than 275 , 000 individual Americans donated the majority of the money needed to build the Memorial . On July 1 , 1980 , Congress authorized a site of three acres in Constitution Gardens near the Lincoln Memorial . In October of that year , VVMF announced a national design competition open to any U . S . citizen over 18 years of age . By Dec . 29 , 1981 , there were 2 , 573 registrants , and the competition became the largest of its kind ever held in the United States . By the March 31 , 1981 deadline , 1 , 421 design entries had been submitted . All entries were judged anonymously by a jury of eight internationally recognized artists and designers who had been selected by VVMF . On May 1 , 1981 , the jury presented its unanimous selection for first prize , which was accepted and adopted enthusiastically by VVMF . The winning design was the work of Maya Ying Lin of Athens , Ohio , a 21 - year - old senior at Yale University . In August 1981 , VVMF selected a building company and architecture firm to develop the plans and build Lin ' s design . Lin became a design consultant to the architect of record . In January 1982 , the decision was made to add a flagstaff and sculpture on the Memorial site in order to provide a realistic depiction of three Vietnam servicemen and a symbol of their courage and devotion to their country . On March 11 , 1982 , the design and plans received final federal approval , and work at the site was begun on March 16 , 1982 . Ground was formally broken on Friday , March 26 , 1982 . In July 1982 , VVMF selected Washington , D . C . sculptor Frederick Hart to design the sculpture of the servicemen to be placed at the site . On Oct . 13 , 1982 , the U . S . Commission of Fine Arts unanimously accepted the proposed sculpture and flagstaff . Construction at the site was completed in late October 1982 , and the Memorial was dedicated on Nov . 13 , 1982 . The Three Servicemen statue was added in 1984 . That same year , the Memorial was given as a " gift " to the American people during a ceremony with President Ronald Reagan . In 1993 , the Vietnam Women ' s Memorial by sculptor Glenna Goodacre was added to the Memorial site to represent the heroic work of women who served in the Vietnam War . In 2000 , Congress authorized the placement on the Memorial site of a plaque honoring post - war casualties of Vietnam whose names are not eligible for inscription on The Wall . VVMF worked with several organizations and architects to ensure that the plaque is harmonious with the site ' s other elements . Funding . The founders of the memorial set forth to collect several million dollars from private investors . In its first three years , the VVMF collected more than $ 8 million from more than 275 , 000 donors . Contest . In October 1980 , the VVMF announced a contest for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial would be open to anyone over 18 years of age . The contest was the largest of its kind ever held in the United States , with over 2 , 573 contestants , and was judged by eight professional artists and architects . The winner of the contest was Maya Ying Lin , who submitted the idea for a wall . Design . The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund wanted , above all , for the memorial to have a prominent site in a large , park - like area ; thus , the western end of Constitution Gardens was requested as the site . Subsequently , VVMF set four major criteria for the design : ( 1 ) that it be reflective and contemplative in character , ( 2 ) that it harmonize with its surroundings , especially the neighboring national memorials , ( 3 ) that it contain the names of all who died or remain missing , and ( 4 ) that it make no political statement about the war . Maya Lin conceived her design as creating a park within a park — a quiet protected place unto itself , yet harmonious with the overall plan of Constitution Gardens . To achieve this effect she chose polished black granite for the walls . Its mirror - like surface reflects the images of the surrounding trees , lawns and monuments . The Memorial ' s walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial , thus bringing the Memorial into the historical context of our country . The names are inscribed in the chronological order of their dates of casualty , showing the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and giving each name a special place in history . Statement by Maya Ying Lin , March , 1981 " Walking through this park - like area , the memorial appears as a rift in the earth , a long , polished , black stone wall , emerging from and receding into the earth . Approaching the memorial , the ground slopes gently downward and the low walls emerging on either side , growing out of the earth , extend and converge at a point below and ahead . Walking into this grassy site contained by the walls of the memorial we can barely make out the carved names upon the memorial ' s walls . These names , seemingly infinite in number , convey the sense of overwhelming numbers , while unifying these individuals into a whole . " The memorial is composed not as an unchanging monument , but as a moving composition to be understood as we move into and out of it . The passage itself is gradual ; the descent to the origin slow , but it is at the origin that the memorial is to be fully understood . At the intersection of these walls , on the right side , is carved the date of the first death . It is followed by the names of those who died in the war , in chronological order . These names continue on this wall appearing to recede into the earth at the wall ' s end . The names resume on the left wall as the wall emerges from the earth , continuing back to the origin where the date of the last death is carved at the bottom of this wall . Thus the war ' s beginning and end meet ; the war is ‘ complete , ' coming full - circle , yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle ' s open side , and continued within the earth itself . As we turn to leave , we see these walls stretching into the distance , directing us to the Washington Monument , to the left , and the Lincoln Memorial , to the right , thus bringing the Vietnam Memorial into an historical context . We the living are brought to a concrete realization of these deaths . " Brought to a sharp awareness of such a loss , it is up to each individual to resolve or come to terms with this loss . For death , is in the end a personal and private matter , and the area contained with this memorial is a quiet place , meant for personal reflection and private reckoning . The black granite walls , each two hundred feet long , and ten feet below ground at their lowest point ( gradually ascending toward ground level ) effectively act as a sound barrier , yet are of such a height and length so as not to appear threatening or enclosing . The actual area is wide and shallow , allowing for a sense of privacy , and the sunlight from the memorial ' s southern exposure along with the grassy park surrounding and within its walls , contribute to the serenity of the area . Thus this memorial is for those who have died , and for us to remember them . " The memorial ' s origin is located approximately at the center of the site ; its legs each extending two hundred feet towards the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial . The walls , contained on one side by the earth , are ten feet below ground at their point of origin , gradually lessening in height , until they finally recede totally into the earth , at their ends . The walls are to be made of a hard , polished black granite , with the names to be carved in a simple Trojan letter . The memorial ' s construction involves recontouring the area within the wall ' s boundaries , so as to provide for an easily accessible descent , but as much of the site as possible should be left untouched . The area should remain as a park , for all to enjoy . " Construction . Construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial began on March 16 , 1982 , though the official ground - breaking was on Friday , March 26 , 1982 . The construction was finished in late October 1982 . The memorial was formally dedicated on November 13 , 1982 . The Three Soldiers statue by Frederick Hart was added in 1984 , and the Vietnam Women ' s Memorial was added in 1993 . Controversy . The various elements of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial complex on the National Mall have been a subject of numerous controversies revolving around design issues . Probably no other major US memorial has been as controversial . This perhaps partially reflects the controversial nature of the war itself . Today . Today , the VVMF continues to support the maintenance of the Memorial , though the memorial itself is maintained by National Park Service staff and some military representatives . It also funds the addition of new names to the Wall and creating directories of names currently on the Wall . The Wall That Heals . " The Wall That Heals " is a traveling half - scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial started in 1996 . It also features a Traveling Museum and Information Center . The Education Center at The Wall . The Education Center at The Wall is the newest initiative of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund . Approved by Congress in 2003 the Education Center is going to be a two story underground facility adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial .