The National Archives along with Footnote.com have launched an online interactive Web site of the Vietnam War Memorial.
“The Wall is more than just 58,000 plus names. Many of these people were my friends,” Vietnam veteran Richard Schroepfer says in a video on the site.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
(Photo Credit: Footnote)
The site offers a link to the service records and casualty reports of those who died in the war. Visitors can pay tribute by adding photos, comments and stories about those who lost their lives.
“We know that there are many untold experiences represented on that Wall, and we hope that this interactive version of the memorial helps those affected by the war by sharing their stories,” said Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com.
Peter Krogh, a National Geographic photographer, photographed the entire Wall. To create the online version of the Wall nearly 1,500 individual photos were put together to create a single image. The process took over five months and resulted in an image that is close to five gigapixels in size.
Visitors to the site can search by name, enlistment type, service, hometown, home state, rank and years of birth and death.
“The records of the Vietnam War in the National Archives are essential resources for veterans to revisit their history and establish their rights,” explains Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein.
