A growing tribute to fallen U.S. military personnel has added a photo of another Vermonter killed in Vietnam, but still needs thousands more photos of service members from across the country.
"To me, it's not something that should be forgotten," said Vermont State Archivist Tanya Marshall, who's helping locate photos of fallen service members for a digital project from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund called The Wall of Faces.
The non-profit is posting pictures online, alongside each of the more than 58,000 names that appear on the solemn Vietnam Memorial wall in D.C.
According to a search of the site, about 6,400 Americans who lost their lives in Vietnam are still unrepresented in the online version of the tribute.
In between work on her other duties as state archivist, Marshall has devoted time over the past year to tracking down relatives of fallen military members who lived in Vermont when they enlisted or were drafted.
Her goal has been to see more Vermont faces honored on the online memorial wall.
Marshall's search connected her with Kathy Richardson of Ludlow, Vermont. Her brother, Marine Lance Corporal Eddie O'Connor, was killed in Vietnam in 1966 at age 19.
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O'Connor's photo was missing from the online Wall of Faces until Marshall connected with town officials in Ludlow, who helped her find Richardson and her stash of family photos.
"It's powerful," Richardson told necn of knowing her brother will now be a part of the online memorial. "Just to see your family member there and know that they have a face--it's not just a name that's been forgotten."
Marshall said she now must locate only three more names on her current list, though she may later turn to finding photos for the Wall of Faces of Vermont military personnel who enlisted in other states.
The Wall of Faces is searchable by name, state, and other terms. Click here to visit the online memorial.
