VIETNAM VETERANS OF OREGON LIVING MEMORIAL
"remember us. so long as we are not forgotten, we do not die"
PHOTOS OF OUR FALLEN
(by Jud Blakely)
There are 828 KIAs and MIAs inscribed on the 6 Alcoves of the VVOMF Living Memorial. Most are pictured and profiled on a website that aims to display ALL Americans who fell in Vietnam...as well as ALL who died years later from Agent Orange and other war-related factors.
Thousands of names are accessible from a search page on the website of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF).
Note: we, the VVOMF, have no formal relationship with the VVMF...the group that founded "The Wall" in Washington along the Mall. They did what they did in 1982; we did what we did in 1987. Our Vision was very different from their Vision. We wanted a HEALING REFUGE.
We sought to forge an "oasis" of tranquil self-reflection a few minutes from downtown Portland...a break from the gauntlet of work and life...a "Garden of Solace" for those in need of a brief sanctuary to calm us and uplift us...to nourish our Souls...to rediscover our balance.
Our Vision was to honor all Oregonians who died (and served) with NO comment on the War itself. We strove to fulfill that Vision.
What follow are 16 links to photos of our Brothers sent into Harm's Way in Vietnam who fell in combat. Their names on a list are merely words but their photos somehow close the distance separating us (the Living) from them (the Fallen)...their photos somehow draw us nearer.
Each icon below is a LINK you can click or tap. Each group consists of about 50 photos. Please inform me of any errors or omissions.
Full disclosure: the hundreds of photos of Fallen Oregonians are all due to incredible efforts made by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. I could not have done this without "The Wall of Faces"page they offer on their website. I thank them for this monumental resource.
That said...I myself was appalled by the highly politicized nature of The Wall. I wrote it off as a symbol to make Americans feel guilt and shame for trying to stop communism in SE Asia. Our Living Memorial in Hoyt Park makes no statement on the war...except for the human cost.
More full disclosure: my Dad and I contributed $500 (as I recall) to the VVOMF in the late 1980s. I lived in Chicago at the time.
I had no role in doing the heavy-lifting to build the Memorial. That was a mission carried out by highly motivated vets (and others) who did what was needed again and again. My contribution was to create this website (in 2013) to express the Saga of what they'd achieved.
At age 83 in mid-2026...I foresee a couple more years of being able to ride herd on the website. Then, again, we plan...and God laughs.
LET FREEDOM RING
