Pennsylvania finds every photo for their Vietnam fallen

11-20-2019

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is pleased to announce that Pennsylvania has found every photo for their Vietnam fallen. There are 3,150 service members from Pennsylvania listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and now every one of them has a photo displayed on the Wall of Faces.

VVMF’s Wall of Faces effort aims to connect a face and a story to each of the more than 58,000 names inscribed on The Wall in Washington, D.C. so that future generations will better understand the impact of the Vietnam War on American families. Each name represents a life cut short and a family changed forever by their loss. Putting a face to every name helps further preserve their legacies.

Master Sgt. Matthew Harris Jr.

The final photo submitted for the state of Pennsylvania was of U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Matthew Harris Jr. of Philadelphia. He made the ultimate sacrifice on May 28, 1965 while serving in the Gia Dinh province of Vietnam. He was 34 years old. Harris is remembered on Panel 1E, Line 126 of The Wall.

More than 57,900 photos of service members who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam have been found to date. Hundreds of volunteers around the country have been instrumental in locating these photos, and spreading the word about the Wall of Faces effort. Photos are currently displayed on VVMF’s Wall of Faces.

44 states, two U.S. territories and the District of Columbia have found every photo for their fallen. They include:

  1. Alabama
  2. Alaska
  3. American Samoa
  4. Arizona
  5. Arkansas
  6. Colorado
  7. Connecticut
  8. Delaware
  9. District of Columbia
  10. Florida
  11. Hawaii
  12. Idaho
  13. Illinois
  14. Indiana
  15. Iowa
  16. Kansas
  17. Kentucky
  18. Louisiana
  19. Maine
  20. Maryland
  21. Minnesota
  22. Mississippi
  23. Missouri
  24. Montana
  25. Nebraska
  26. Nevada
  27. New Hampshire
  28. New Jersey
  29. New Mexico
  30. North Carolina
  31. North Dakota
  32. Ohio
  33. Oklahoma
  34. Oregon
  35. Pennsylvania
  36. Rhode Island
  37. South Carolina
  38. South Dakota
  39. Tennessee
  40. Texas
  41. Utah
  42. Vermont
  43. Virgin Islands
  44. Washington
  45. West Virginia
  46. Wisconsin
  47. Wyoming

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1982 with a promise to never forget the service members who served and sacrificed in the Vietnam War. The Wall of Faces effort began in 2009. Submitted photos are currently available on VVMF’s Wall of Faces. To see photos missing by state, visit: https://www.vvmf.org/submit-a-photo/Missing-Photos-by-State/