The names of 58,318 Americans who lost their lives in the Vietnam War are engraved chronologically on an expansive black granite wall near the Lincoln Memorial, forming the cornerstone of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Visitors can browse an alphabetical list of names in nearby catalogs to help them locate specific engravings on the Memorial.

In addition to the wall of names, the Memorial also includes:

• Three Servicemen Statue
• Vietnam Women’s Memorial
• In Memory Plaque
• Pole flying US & MIA-POW flags

The memorial was designed in 1980 by Maya Lin, then a 21-year-old Yale architecture student who had entered her creation into a design competition. She won unanimously.

You can learn more about the History of the Wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.