Tennessee State Senator Dr. Mark Green (R-22d District) announced Monday that the statewide effort to round up photographs of the 1,295 Tennessee heroes listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has succeeded in locating photos of 119 service members, with 580 remaining to be found. The photos will be put on permanent display at the Education Center to be built near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (“The Wall”) in Washington, D.C.
The names of those from Chattanooga who have been found are Robert Looney, Robert McJunkin and Thomas Tucker.
Those still missing from Chattanooga include: Air Force: Arthur E Norman and James T Gray. Army: Bruce E Armstrong, Carlton Ross, Charles E Smith Jr, Charles J Swint, Clifton Tanksley, Emanuel Jones Jr, George W Martin, Glenn H Kelley, Harold C Hedden Jr, Homer L Medley, James F Watson, Jessie J Garth, Jimmy R Griffin, John M Mizelle, John R Prince, Manuela A Hicks Jr, Randall Hixson, Raphnell J Meroney, Rayfon Lofton, Raymond G Clark, Robert E Hamilton, Robert E Poe, Thomas W Matthews Jr, Tomas C Tucker, Virgil Kirkland Jr, Wade L Broome, Will L Fowler and Willie Shelton. Marine Corps: Billy J Bennett, Franklin D Ratliff, Fred S Lea, George A Essary, Haywood W Tipsy Jr, Jerry L Bell, John H Walker Jr, Johnnie L Vaught Jr, Ronald L Wright, Tommy L Taylor, William H Pless and William L Pemberton.
“The brave men from Tennessee who gave their lives in Vietnam deserve to be remembered as something more than names engraved in black marble,” Dr. Green said of his effort.
The photos will be used as part of a multi-media exhibit that will be one of the major exhibits at the Education Center, Dr. Green said.
“These photos will be seen by grateful citizens for generations to come,” Dr. Green said. “They will show our heroes as the living, breathing men and women they once were. It will be a powerful addition to the experience of visiting The Wall.”
“The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is appreciative of Senator Green’s work to help find the missing photos of Tennesseans," said Jim Knotts, CEO of VVMF. "There are 58,300 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and our mission is to put a face behind every name. We recently passed the 38,000 mark but that means we still have more than 20,000 to go. We will display these photos in the future Education Center at The Wall to make sure these heroes and their sacrifices are never forgotten."
Dr. Green, in partnership with his fellow state senators, has led the drive in Tennessee to urge citizens to search through their scrapbooks, yearbooks and photo albums for photographs of the fallen.
Dr. Green launched the project on June 26 at Bicentennial Capitol Hall State Park in Nashville. At the time, the faces of 699 Tennessee heroes were unaccounted for. Even now, Dr. Green said that photographs of 580 Tennesseans listed on The Wall are still missing.
Photos should be scanned and submitted electronically via email to win0764@gmail.com or to www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces. Copies of the photos can be mailed to: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Attn: Call for Photos, 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 104, Washington, DC 20037.
“Please do not send the original photo,” Dr. Green cautioned. “The original photos are priceless, and we don’t want them lost or damaged.”
In addition, Dr. Green said, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund cannot be responsible for returning the original photos.