Vietnam-War Facts

Vietnam veterans got no parade when the war ended in 1975. Many came home to silence. Chicago decided eleven years was long enough. On June 13, 1986, nearly 200,000 veterans marched through downtown Chicago. More than half a million people came out to cheer them. One marcher, a paraplegic veteran, had days earlier saved a drowning toddler. He rode the route as an honorary marshal. Chicago was finally saying thank you.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall gets washed by hand. Vietnam veterans get down on the granite and scrub it themselves, with buckets, soft brushes and a hose. Their group, Chapter 641, started the ritual in 1996, and through 2026 that is 31 seasons of vets and volunteer groups washing the stone together. The wall carries 58,281 names. They are still out there scrubbing it, every warm season.