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

SHOREWOOD — 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. Today, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund announced that Wisconsin is one of the first states to collect photos of every single one.

Of those, 1 was from Shorewood

• James A. Salamone

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

James, Although we never met, I just want you to know you are not forgotten. You gave the ultimate sacrifice, your life for what you believed in. Sleep well and thank you.

• See all of Wisconsin’s fallen Vietnam War vets and search for other fallen heroes here

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 Shorewood:

Shorewood’s annual Memorial Day program begins at 4 p.m. at Atwater Park on Sunday, May 29.

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