Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a 2-acre (8,000 m²) national memorial in Washington, DC. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for (Missing In Action) during the War.

Its construction and related issues have been the source of controversies, some of which have resulted in additions to the memorial complex. The memorial currently consists of three separate parts: the Three Servicemen Memorial, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which is the best-known part of the memorial.

The main part of the memorial, which was completed in 1982, is in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives around 3 million visitors each year. The Memorial Wall was designed by American architect Maya Lin. In 2007, it was ranked tenth on the "List of America's Favorite Architecture" by the American Institute of Architects. As a National Memorial it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Memorial Wall is comprised of two 246 feet 9 inches (75.21 m) long gabbro dividers, carved with the names of the servicemen being respected in boards of flat columns with consistent typeface and spacing.[2][3] The dividers are sunk into the ground, with the earth behind them. At the most noteworthy tip (the summit where they meet), they are 10.1 feet (3.1 m) high, and they decrease to a stature of 8 inches (20 cm) at their furthest points. Typically, this is depicted as an "injury that is shut and recuperating." 

At the point when a guest looks upon the divider, his or her appearance can be seen at the same time with the engraved names, which is intended to typically bring the over a wide span of time together. One divider focuses toward the Washington Monument, the other toward the Lincoln Memorial, meeting at a point of 125° 12′. Every divider has 72 boards, 70 posting names (numbered 1E through 70E and 70W through 1W) and 2 little clear boards at the furthest points. There is a pathway along the base of the Wall, where guests might walk. 

The divider recorded 58,191 names when it was finished in 1983; as of May 2015, there are precisely 58,307 names, including 8 ladies. Roughly 1,200 of these are recorded as missing (MIAs, POWs, and others). Catalogs are situated on close-by platform so guests might find particular names.