The long-overdue Vietnam War Memorial was unveiled Friday on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol with a centerpiece wall engraved with the names of 790 Oregonians who lost their lives in the war.
The names are listed under hometowns, from Albany to Yoncalla, in all capital letters.
Portland lost more service members than any Oregon city, its list of names consuming 2½ columns. Thirty-nine names are listed under Salem, including six marked with a diamond, meaning they are still considered missing in action because their remains have not been returned.
“They are not just names on granite,” Steve Bates, a member of the Vietnam War Memorial Fund, told the crowd during a dedication ceremony. “These 790 names represent a person, a story, and a family. These names represent those who were a son, a dad, a brother, an uncle, a nephew.”
Vietnam veteran Carlos Grant touches the engraved names of fellow service members who died during the war.
No female service members from Oregon are believed to have died in Vietnam.
The hourlong dedication ceremony included remarks from local veterans and state officials, including Gov. Tina Kotek, whose father was an Army veteran in the Korean War.
“We cannot forget the families of those veterans who didn’t make it home,” Kotek said. “And for those who did come home, I want you to know as your governor, I will have your back, and welcome home. We are here for you.”
The Vietnam War Memorial at the corner of Cottage and State Streets is unveiled and dedicated during a ceremony at the Oregon State Capitol grounds on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 in Salem, Ore.
Memorial provides reflective and healing space
The memorial, on the corner of Cottage and State streets, was built not just to honor the fallen but to provide a reflective and healing space for veterans, families and the public. More than 180,000 Oregonians served in Vietnam.
The column wall forms an L-shape, like its World War II counterpart to the north. This wall, though, is not solid. The columns have six to 12 inches of space between each, representing the fractured public opinion Americans had about the war, the fractured support service members received upon returning, and their fractured emotions.
Kotek called the memorial a sacred place, thanking and congratulating all the volunteers behind the project.
“The persistence and the dedication of so many people to conceive of and build such a beautiful memorial for veterans who felt left behind, here on the grounds of the State Capitol,…
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