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2021 Veterans Day Information and RSVP

The annual Veterans Day ceremony is co-hosted by VVMF and the National Park Service to pay tribute to all of our country’s service members, regardless of what conflict they served in. On this special day, prominent Americans from all walks of life come to the Memorial to deliver thought-evoking and patriotic speeches.

For those who can not make the ceremony, we’ll be broadcasting video of the event on this page and VVMF’s Facebook page on November 11th, 2021.

All guests will have to adhere to COVID regulations from the District of Columbia and the National Park Service.

RSVP and Seating Information

While we are no longer accepting reservations for seating, the general public is welcome to attend the ceremony but we cannot guarantee that you will have a seat.  We will open the remainder of general seating approximately 5-10 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony.  Late attendees or individuals without a seat are welcomed to stand outside the reserved seating areas.

Official Ceremony Program

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GENERAL BARRY R. MCCAFFREY

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

General Barry McCaffrey

General Barry McCaffrey

Vietnam War veteran

Barry McCaffrey served in the United States Army for 32 years.  When he retired in 1996, he was the most decorated General serving in the United States Army, having been awarded 3 Purple Heart Medals for wounds received in combat, 2 Distinguished Service Crosses (the nation’s second highest award for valor), and 2 Silver Stars for valor.  He served overseas for more than 12 years —and 4 combat tours with the 82nd Abn Division, the Vietnamese Airborne Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 24th Mech Infantry Division.

For five years after leaving the military, General McCaffrey served as the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Upon leaving government service, he served as the Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies from 2001-2005; and an Adjunct Professor of International Security Studies from 2006-2010 at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences from 1973-1976 teaching American Government and Comparative Politics.

In 2007 he was inducted into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame at the US Army Infantry Center, Ft. Benning, GA. In May 2010, he was honored as a Distinguished Graduate by the West Point Association of Graduates at the United States Military Academy. In 1992 he was awarded the State Department Superior Honor Award for the principal negotiation team for the START II Nuclear Arms Control Treaty. In 2004, Catholic University of America awarded him the James Cardinal Gibbons Medal (Highest Honor), to honor him for distinguished and meritorious service to the United States of America. In 2015 he was selected for the Doughboy Award – the highest honor the Chief of Infantry can Bestow on any infantryman – for outstanding contribution to the United States Army Infantry.

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Lieutenant Grace Moore

WOMEN’S MEMORIAL SPEAKER

Lieutenant Grace Moore

U.S. Army Nurse, Vietnam (’68)

Mrs Moore comes to us today via a small town called Dewar, Iowa where she learned to respect the military and our country. She attended St Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Ottumwa, Iowa where she heard an Army recruiter talk about the Army Student Nurse Program in 1965. That was a time in our history when we were challenged to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. The idea of joining the Army Nurse Corps was born and after graduating in 1966, she began active duty with basic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio followed by serving at Reynolds Army Hospital; Ft. Sill, OK.

In May of 1968 Grace was transferred to the 12th Evacuation Hospital in CuChi, Vietnam where she was assigned as head nurse of the orthopedic unit. It was here that she truly learned the meaning of “team”and how essential it was to be able to count on your colleagues. She credits that knowledge for how she dealt with her professional nursing career going forward in civilian life through various positions and facilities.

Grace met Diane Carlson-Evans in the very early days of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial project and “volunteered” (tongue in cheek) to become the Pennsylvania State coordinator. In looking back on those days she believes being in that position and speaking with veterans from all over the state aided in healing the place in her heart that she didn’t even know was hurting. She has remained active in her local veteran community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and is called upon to speak at various schools and events about the role that women played during the Vietnam era.

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