Memorial Day 2016: Remembering Those Who Died in the Vietnam War

RACINE - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. honors the lives that were lost and represents a stark reminder of war’s human cost.

Of the more than 58,000 lives lost in the Vietnam War 1,161 were from Wisconsin and 40 were from Racine County. Today, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced that Wisconsin is one of the first states to collect photos of every single one. Here are just a few:

• MICHAEL E YOUNG
• MICHAEL J VERHAEGHE
• RICHARD J O'HARE
• GILBERT R NICKERS
• PATRICK R MCCLUREON
• TIMOTHY J KENNEDY
• See all of Wisconsin’s fallen Vietnam War vets and search for all of Racine County’s fallen heroes here

You can learn branch of service, some deployment details, see a picture of them and leave a remembrance.

For years, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund - the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to build and maintain the memorial commonly known as The Wall - has been working to collect photos of every person whose name is on The Wall.

Of the 58,000 names on the memorial, the Fund has managed to collect around 46,000.

They call the project: The Wall of Faces.

They have been keeping track by state and Wisconsin came the 10th state to have photos collected for each of its veterans.

You can see all of Wisconsin’s veterans here.

The fund says that the states now closest to completion are Nevada (1), Utah (3), Alaska (4), Colorado (15), and Washington (16).

All the photos - while online now - will eventually be displayed in the Education Center at The Wall.

Memorial Day in Racine:

RACINE: May 30, 2016 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM: West Blvd to Graceland Cemetery, West Racine Shopping District. Organized by the Racine Area Veterans Council, the Racine Memorial Day Parade steps off promptly at 10 a.m. at West Boulevard and Washington Avenue and will end with a memorial ceremony at Graceland Cemetery's Veterans Memorial, shortly after 11 a.m.

UNION GROVE: Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 21731 Spring Street, Union Grove, WI 11 a.m.to 12 p.m. - The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs invites everyone to this annual program for families of loved ones buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

BURLINGTON: May 30, 2016 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. - Annual Memorial Day parade starts at 9 a.m. in downtown Burlington. Followed by a memorial service at Echo Park.

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