Camp Holloway Discussion Forum Archive 05 - 02/12/06 to 01/21/10

National Call for Photos

FYI
George

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and FedEx Office to Launch National Call for Photos of the More Than 58,000 Individuals Named on the Wall

FedEx Office Locations around the Country to Help Gather Photos
Washington, D.C. – The National Call for Photos, a campaign to gather images of the more than 58,000 men and women whose names are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, will be launched on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 10:30 a.m. at an event being held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is teaming up with FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko’s) to collect the photos. FedEx Office will provide scanning services in its more than 1,600 FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers, allowing family and friends to submit their photos of loved ones whose names are on The Wall.

The images will be scanned and eventually displayed in The Education Center at The Wall. The Education Center is an underground facility that will be built near the Vietnam Veterans and Lincoln Memorials. The pictures being collected will form its centerpiece: a larger-than-life wall of photos that will showcase pictures of those we lost during the Vietnam War on their birthdays.

“It is vital that we remember the individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, even as we pay tribute to everyone who served and sacrificed in all of America’s wars,” said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Memorial Fund. “When it is built, The Education Center will allow us to put faces with the names on The Wall and learn some of their stories.”

”FedEx Office is honored to play a role in the National Call for Photos,” said Brian Philips, President and CEO of FedEx Office. “FedEx Corporation has been a longtime financial contributor to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. With this current effort, we are able to leverage our network and technical capabilities to help preserve these treasured images for generations to come.”

When having a photo scanned at a FedEx Office location, contributors will be asked to fill out a form on which they will identify the person whose photo they are providing and share a remembrance of that person. The form and photo will then be scanned and uploaded to a special site where all of the photos will be housed. Scanners will be available at the Newseum event for participants and members of the public to be among the first in the country to contribute photos.

Speakers at the launch event will include:
• Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel;
• Sons and Daughters in Touch (SDIT) member Colleen Shine;
• Peter Holt, chairman of the Campaign to Build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial;
• FedEx Office President and CEO Brian Philips; and
• Bob Wallace, executive director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
• Jan Scruggs will serve as master of ceremonies.

Hagel, Holt and Scruggs, who are all Vietnam veterans, will each contribute a photo of a friend who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam and relate a story about that person. Colleen Shine will offer photos of her father and her uncle, both of whom died in the Vietnam War, and will share memories of them.

Following formal remarks, the participants will take their photos to the scanning stations, where FedEx Office President and CEO Brian Philips will oversee the scanning. Members of the audience will then be invited to submit their photos for scanning.

The launch marks the beginning of a campaign to gather photos and raise money for The Education Center at The Wall. Every FedEx Office Print and Ship Center around the country is prepared to accept photos in this national call. In addition, the Memorial Fund is partnering with community and veterans groups to gather photos. To find the nearest FedEx Office location, visit fedex.com. For communities without a FedEx Office location, individuals can visit www.VVMFCenter.org <http://www.VVMFCenter.org> to upload their photos and information.

About the Education Center at The Wall
The Education Center at The Wall is a learning facility being built underground on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Exhibits will include a wall of photographs of those whose names are on The Wall, a selection of the over 100,000 items that have been left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a timeline of key military events of the Vietnam War and a history of The Wall. The Center will celebrate the values embodied by all of America’s service members—loyalty, duty, respect, service, honor, integrity and courage—and an exit exhibit will show images of those who served in all of America’s conflicts, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq. Over $20 million has been raised for The Education Center, including the lead gift of $10 million from Time Warner. It is estimated that the Center will cost $85 million to build.

About FedEx Office
FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko’s) provides access points to printing and shipping expertise with reliable service when and where you need it. The Dallas-based company has a network of more than 1,900 digitally-connected locations. FedEx Office services include copying and digital printing, professional finishing, document creation, direct mail, signs and graphics, Internet access, computer rental, FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping, and more. In addition, the company offers FedEx OfficeSM Print Online, an online printing solution for business and personal printing, at home, at the office or on the go. Products, services and hours vary by location. For more information, please visit www.fedex.com.

About the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War. Authorized by Congress, its most recent initiative is building The Education Center at The Wall, an underground facility near the Memorial that is designed to help visitors discover the stories of those named on The Wall and celebrate the values embodied by all service members who served in all of America’s wars. Other Memorial Fund initiatives include educational programs for students and teachers, a traveling Wall replica that honors our nation's veterans and a humanitarian and mine-action program in Vietnam.