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Honoring the Vietnam War’s fallen

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, one of the most visited sites in the nation’s capital, takes on a special resonance on Memorial Day. A look at its past and present.

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May 6, 1981

Maya Ying Lin, the designer of the memorial, and Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, hold the model of the new Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Lin was 21 in 1981 and an undergraduate student when she won a public design competition for the memorial, beating out 1,441 other submissions.

James M. Thresher / The Washington Post

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