They fought an elusive and determined enemy. In the end, despite countless acts of personal bravery, an abundant arsenal, and all of the tactical victories, they had achieved neither victory nor "peace with honor." Unlike previous wars, from which troops returned home with their units to the welcome of a grateful nation, most Vietnam veterans came home individually, unheralded, blamed by many for the unsatisfying outcome of the fighting.

This mistaken national attitude began to change in 1979. The heroic embrace lavished on the American hostages returning after 444 days of captivity in Iran caused many to re-examine the lack of a welcome afforded the GIs who returned from Southeast Asia.

Leading the Way in New York City

In the City of New York, Mayor Edward I. Koch, a veteran of combat in the European theatre during the Second World War, appointed a 27-member Mayor's Task Force on a Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1981. Mayor Koch was a pioneering public official in his efforts to help right the wrongs - and alter the perceptions - of Vietnam veterans.

Following the recommendations of the Task Force, the Mayor in September 1982 established The New York Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission. The 100-member commission was to raise the funds to stage a competition to select a design, and then build, a fitting memorial; and to create a jobs program for unemployed and underemployed Vietnam veterans. One month later, the Mayor signed into law a bill renaming Jeanette Park in lower Manhattan, which had been selected as the site for the memorial, as "Vietnam Veterans Plaza."

By the time the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the tenth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam Era, more than $3 million had been raised or pledged. This represented more than 12,000 separate contributions - ranging from 35 cents to one million dollars - from individuals, corporations, foundations, unions, and associations.

The Memorial was dedicated on the night of May 6, 1985. The next day, the "Welcome Home" parade, the largest ticker-tape parade in New York City history to that point, was held. The call for letters and poems for inclusion on the Memorial inspired the compilation and publication of the best-selling book, Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam; the book, in turn, became the basis for a Peabody- and Emmy Award-winning film of the same name.

The Commission's Design Committee had responsibility for the physical memorial. It determined that the memorial should imply neither approval nor disapproval of the purpose or conduct of the war. It should not only remember the roster of the dead and honor those who fell, but should celebrate life for those who returned. It should "acknowledge the service and sacrifice of all veterans from New York City who did their individual and collective best under trying and unusual circumstances." It should "evoke reconciliation and an awareness of the enduring human values reflected in the conflicting experiences" of the Vietnam War; it should embody the "contradictory yet universally shared experiences of war and peace, danger and relief, weakness and strength, isolation and comradeship."

An international design competition attracted more than 1,100 entrants from 46 states and six foreign countries. The winning design, which emerged following a two-phased blind competition, was submitted by a three-member team from New York City: architects William Fellows and Peter Wormser, and Vietnam veteran Joseph Ferrandino. It was unveiled by Mayor Koch at a press conference in City Hall on May 29, 1984.

Over the next year, the Commission received more than 3,000 pieces of correspondence from more than 600 veterans, their loved ones, their next of kin. A subcommittee selected excerpts of 83 letters , poems, and journal entries written by 65 individuals, along with statements by the four American presidents under whom the war in Southeast Asia was waged, and brief news clips to amplify and give context to the excerpts, that were etched into the glass block of the 16-foot high, 66-foot long memorial.