Oily Substance Found on the Wall

The National Park Service was trying to determine whether an oily substance found late last week on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was the result of vandalism or an accident.

The material, which appeared to be gone yesterday, was noticed along the paving stones and the bottom of some of the panels and reported to U.S. Park Police on Friday evening, Park Service spokesman Bill Line said.

He said that cleaning crews worked over the weekend to remove the substance and that the Park Service is trying to determine what it was. "Until this investigation is completed, it is premature to speculate whether any intentional act was committed," Line said.

The black granite wall, which was dedicated in 1982, bears the names of more than 58,000 men and women who were killed or went missing during the Vietnam War. It is one of the most heavily visited tourist sites in Washington.

A roughly 10-foot area of the Wall's western side was cordoned off yesterday with orange traffic cones, and a plastic bucket containing water and a small scrub brush was nearby.

Passersby lamented the possibility that the incident might have been the work of vandals.

Claudette Mabe of Swords Creek, Va., was visiting the memorial with her sisters and mother, looking for the name of a teenage neighbor who died in the war. "It's very sad that somebody would do anything, whether you support the war or not," she said.

Jan C. Scruggs, president and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the memorial, said in a written statement: "While it is unclear what transpired, we are heartened by the response of the veterans' community and the general public. After 25 years, their connection to The Wall remains as strong as ever, and we appreciate that."