VIETNAM GREEN BERET Limited Edition Art Print. Measures 14" x 17.5" and in Mint Unframed condition. Signed and numbered by the artist Kristina (can't make out the last name but it appears to be Thomas or Thumm - you be the judge). There were only 500 of these were printed in 1994. Long ago sold out and seldom seen for sale. The print you receive will be a different number than the one pictured. Insured USPS Priority delivery in the Continental US. Will be shipped in a heavy duty tube. Will ship Worldwide and will combine shipping when practical. 

The United States Army Special Forces, colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army that are designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and security force assistance. The first two missions, unconventional warfare and foreign internal defenses, emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary missions, include: combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, information operations, peacekeeping, and manhunts. Other components of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other U.S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary missions.[7] The Special Forces conduct these missions via seven geographically focused groups.[8] Many of their operational techniques are classified, but some nonfiction works[9] and doctrinal manuals are available.[10][11][12] [13]

As special operations units, Special Forces are not necessarily under the command authority of the ground commanders in those countries. Instead, while in theater, SF units may report directly to a geographic combatant command, USSOCOM, or other command authorities. The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) highly secretive Special Activities Center (formerly known as the "Special Activities Division") and more specifically its Special Operations Group (SOG) recruits from the U.S. Army's Special Forces.[14] Joint CIA–Army Special Forces operations go back to the MACV-SOG branch during the Vietnam War.[15] The cooperation still exists today and is seen in the War in Afghanistan.[16][17]

Mission

Special Forces soldiers from Task Force Dagger and Commander Dostum on horseback in the Dari-a-Souf Valley, Afghanistan, circa October 2001—featured in the film 12 Strong and the Horse Soldier Statue
The primary mission of the Army Special Forces is to train and lead unconventional warfare (UW) forces, or a clandestine guerrilla force in an occupied nation.[18] The 10th Special Forces Group was the first deployed SF unit, intended to train and lead UW forces behind enemy lines in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of Western Europe. [19] As the U.S. became involved in Southeast Asia, it was realized that specialists trained to lead guerrillas could also help defend against hostile guerrillas, so SF acquired the additional mission of Foreign Internal Defense (FID), working with Host Nation (HN) forces in a spectrum of counter-guerrilla activities from indirect support to combat command. [20]

Special Forces personnel qualify both in advanced military skills and the regional languages and cultures of defined parts of the world. While they are best known for their unconventional warfare capabilities, they also undertake other missions that include direct action raids, peace operations, counter-proliferation, counter-drug advisory roles, and other strategic missions.[21] As strategic resources, they report either to USSOCOM or to a regional Unified Combatant Command. To enhance their DA capability, specific units were created with a focus on the direct action side of special operations. First known as Commander's In-extremis Force (CIF), then Crisis Response Forces (CRF), they are now supplanted by Hard-Target Defeat (HTD) companies.[22][23][24]

SF team members work closely together and rely on one another under isolated circumstances for long periods of time, both during extended deployments and in garrison. Because of this, they develop clannish relationships and long-standing personal ties.[citation needed] SF non-commissioned officers (NCO) often spend their entire careers in Special Forces, rotating among assignments to detachments, higher staff billets, liaison positions, and instructor duties at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS). They are then required to move to staff positions or to higher command echelons.[citation needed] With the creation of USSOCOM, SF commanders have risen to the highest ranks of U.S. Army command, including command of USSOCOM, the Army's Chief of Staff, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[25]

History
Main article: History of the United States Army Special Forces
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U.S. Army reveals the existence of the Special Forces in Europe, circa 1959
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Special Operations overview, circa 1984
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ODA 525 team picture taken shortly before infiltration in Iraq, February 1991
Special Forces traces its roots as the Army's premier proponent of unconventional warfare from purpose-formed special operations units like the Alamo Scouts, Philippine guerrillas, First Special Service Force, and the Operational Groups (OGs) of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Although the OSS was not an Army organization, many Army personnel were assigned to the OSS and later used their experiences to influence the forming of Special Forces.

During the Korean War, individuals such as former Philippine guerrilla commanders Col. Wendell Fertig and Lt. Col. Russell W. Volckmann used their wartime experience to formulate the doctrine of unconventional warfare that became the cornerstone of the Special Forces.[26][27]

In 1951, Major General Robert A. McClure chose former OSS member Colonel Aaron Bank as Operations Branch Chief of the Special Operations Division of the Psychological Warfare Staff (OCPW) in the Pentagon.[28]

In June 1952, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was formed under Col. Aaron Bank, soon after the establishment of the Psychological Warfare School, which ultimately became today's John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.[citation needed] The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was split, with the cadre that kept the designation 10th SFG deployed to Bad Tölz, Germany, in September 1953. The remaining cadre at Fort Bragg formed the 77th Special Forces Group, which in May 1960 was reorganized and designated as today's 7th Special Forces Group.[29]

Since their establishment in 1952, Special Forces soldiers have operated in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia, Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, 1st Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines, Syria, Yemen, Niger and, in an FID role, East Africa.

The Special Forces branch was established as a basic branch of the United States Army on 9 April 1987 by Department of the Army General Order No. 35.[30]

Organizational structure
US Army 1st Special Forces Command Flash.png 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)
US Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) Organization.png
Special Forces Groups

Soldiers from each of the Army's seven Special Forces Groups (note seven different colors of beret patches) at the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy in November 2011.

A MH-60L from 160th SOAR deploys an ODA from 7th SFG(A) onboard a U.S. submarine for a joint exercise
In 1957 the two original special forces groups (10th and 77th) were joined by the 1st, stationed in the Far East. Additional groups were formed in 1961 and 1962 after President John F. Kennedy visited the Special Forces at Fort Bragg in 1961. Nine groups were organized for the reserve components in 1961.[31] Among them were the 16th and 17th Special Forces Groups. However, the 17th Special Forces Group, a National Guard formation with elements in Washington, was disestablished on 31 January 1966.

In the early twenty-first century, Special Forces are divided into five active duty (AD) and two Army National Guard (ARNG) Special Forces groups. Each Special Forces Group (SFG) has a specific regional focus. The Special Forces soldiers assigned to these groups receive intensive language and cultural training for countries within their regional area of responsibility (AOR).[32] Due to the increased need for Special Forces soldiers in the War on Terror, all groups—including those of the National Guard (19th and 20th SFGs)—have been deployed outside of their areas of operation (AOs), particularly to Iraq and Afghanistan. A recently released report showed Special Forces as perhaps the most deployed SOF under USSOCOM, with many soldiers, regardless of group, serving up to 75% of their careers overseas, almost all of which had been to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Until recently an SF group has consisted of three battalions, but since the Department of Defense has authorized the 1st Special Forces Command to increase its authorized strength by one third, a fourth battalion was activated in each active component group by 2012.[citation needed]


Current structure of the 1st SFG (A)

 

Current structure of the 3rd SFG (A)

 

Current structure of the 5th SFG (A)

 

Current structure of the 7th SFG (A)

 

Current structure of the 10th SFG (A)

 

Current structure of the 20th SFG (A) (ARNG)

A Special Forces group is historically assigned to a Unified Combatant Command or a theater of operations. The Special Forces Operational Detachment C or C-detachment (SFODC) is responsible for a theater or a major subcomponent, which can provide command and control of up to 18 SFODAs, three SFODB, or a mixture of the two. Subordinate to it is the Special Forces Operational Detachment Bs or B-detachments (SFODB), which can provide command and control for six SFODAs. Further subordinate, the SFODAs typically raise company- to battalion-sized units when on unconventional warfare missions. They can form six-man "split A" detachments that are often used for special reconnaissance.

Beret Flash Group
1sfg.png
1st Special Forces Group – Headquartered at Joint Base Lewis–McChord, Washington along with its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions, its 1st Battalion is forward deployed at Torii Station, Okinawa. The 1SFGA is oriented towards the Pacific region, and is often tasked by PACOM. Currently, 1SFGA and two of its battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed on a rotational basis to either Iraq as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula, to Afghanistan as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan, or to the Philippines as Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines.
3sfg.svg
3rd Special Forces Group – Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The 3SFGA is theoretically oriented towards all of Sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of the Eastern Horn of Africa, i.e. AFRICOM. In practice, 3SFGA and two of its battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed to Afghanistan as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan.
5th SFG Beret Flash.png
5th Special Forces Group – Headquartered at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The 5SFGA is oriented towards the Middle East, Persian Gulf, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa (HOA), and is frequently tasked by CENTCOM. Currently, 5SFGA and two of its battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed to Iraq as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula.
7th Special Forces Group.svg
7th Special Forces Group – Headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The 7SFG(A) is oriented towards the western hemisphere: the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico, the waters adjacent to Central America and South America, the Caribbean Sea—with its 13 island nations, European and U.S. territories—the Gulf of Mexico, and a portion of the Atlantic Ocean (i.e. the USSOUTHCOM AOR and a little more). Although not aligned, the 7SFG(A) has also supported USNORTHCOM activities within the western hemisphere. In practice, 7SFG(A) and two of its battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed to Afghanistan as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. In 2011, 7SFG(A) relocated from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round.
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10th Special Forces Group – Headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado along with its 2nd, 3rd and newly added 4th Battalions, its 1st Battalion is forward deployed in the Panzer Kaserne (Panzer Barracks) in Böblingen near Stuttgart, Germany. The 10SFGA is theoretically oriented towards Europe, mainly Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon and Northern Africa, i.e. EUCOM. In practice, 10SFGA and two of its battalions spend roughly six months out of every twelve deployed to Iraq as Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula.
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19th Special Forces Group – One of two National Guard Special Forces Groups. Headquartered in Draper, Utah, with companies in Washington, West Virginia, Ohio, Rhode Island, Colorado, California, and Texas, the 19SFGA is oriented towards Southwest Asia (shared with 5SFGA), Europe (shared with 10SFGA), as well as Southeast Asia (shared with 1SFGA).
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20th Special Forces Group – One of two National Guard Special Forces Groups. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with battalions in Alabama (1st Battalion), Mississippi (2nd Battalion), and Florida (3rd Battalion), with assigned Companies and Detachments in North Carolina ; Chicago; Louisville, Kentucky; Western Massachusetts; and Baltimore. The 20SFGA has an area of responsibility (AOR) covering 32 countries, including Latin America south of Mexico, the waters, territories, and nations in the Caribbean sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Orientation towards the region is shared with 7SFGA.
Inactive Groups
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6th Special Forces Group – Active from 1963 to 1971. Based at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Assigned to Southwest Asia (Iraq, Iran, etc.) and Southeast Asia. Many of the 103 original Son tay raider volunteers were from 6SFGA.
US Army 8th SFG beret flash.svg
8th Special Forces Group – Active from 1963 to 1972. Responsible for training armies of Latin America in counterinsurgency tactics.
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11th Special Forces Group (U.S. Army Reserve) – Active from 1961 to 1994.
12SFG beret flash.svg
12th Special Forces Group (U.S. Army Reserve) – Active from 1961 to 1994.
Battalion Headquarters Element – SF Operational Detachment-C (SFODC) composition
The SFODC, or "C-Team", is the headquarters element of a Special Forces battalion. As such, it is a command and control unit with operations, training, signals, and logistic support responsibilities to its three subordinate line companies. A lieutenant colonel commands the battalion as well as the C-Team, and the Battalion Command Sergeant Major is the senior NCO of the battalion and the C-Team. There are an additional 20–30 SF personnel who fill key positions in operations, logistics, intelligence, communications, and medical. A Special Forces battalion usually consists of four companies: "A", "B", "C", and Headquarters/Support.[citation needed]

Company Headquarters Element – SF Operational Detachment-B (SFODB) composition

A SF company commander in Universal Camouflage Pattern meets with elders and members of the 209th ANA Corps in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, circa 2007

A soldier from A Co, 1st Bn, 7th SFG(A) gives an Afghan boy a coloring book in Kandahar Province during a meeting with local leaders, circa 2008
The ODB, or "B-Team", is the headquarters element of a Special Forces company, and it is usually composed of 11–13 soldiers. While the A-team typically conducts direct operations, the purpose of the B-Team is to support the company's A-Teams both in garrison and in the field. When deployed, in line with their support role, B-Teams are usually found in more secure rear areas. However, under some circumstances a B-Team will deploy into a hostile area, usually to coordinate the activities of multiple A-Teams.[citation needed]

The ODB is led by an 18A, usually a major, who is the company commander (CO). The CO is assisted by his company executive officer (XO), another 18A, usually a captain.[33] The XO is himself assisted by a company technician, a 180A, generally, a chief warrant officer three, who assists in the direction of the organization, training, intelligence, counter-intelligence, and operations for the company and its detachments. The company commander is assisted by a senior non-commissioned officer, an 18Z, usually a Sergeant Major. A second 18Z acts as the operations sergeant, usually a Master Sergeant, who assists the XO and technician in their operational duties. He has an 18F assistant operations sergeant, who is usually a Sergeant First Class. The company's support comes from an 18D medical sergeant, usually a Sergeant First Class, and two 18E communications sergeants, usually a Sergeant First Class and a Staff Sergeant.[citation needed]

The following jobs are outside of the Special Forces 18-series career management field (CMF), but hold positions on a Special Forces B-Team. Soldiers in these positions are not "Special Forces qualified", as they have not completed the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC or "Q" Course); however, they do have the potential to be awarded the Special Qualification Identifier (SQI) "S" (Special Operations / Special Operations Support) once they complete the appropriate unit-level training, 24 months with their Special Forces unit, and Basic Airborne School:

The supply NCO, usually a Staff Sergeant, the commander's principal logistical planner, works with the battalion S-4 to supply the company.
The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN defense) NCO, usually a Sergeant, maintains and operates the company's NBC detection and decontamination equipment, and assists in administering NBC defensive measures.[34]
Other jobs can also exist depending on the B-Team structure. Specialist team members can include I.T. (S-6) personnel, and Military Intelligence Soldiers, including Intelligence Analysts (35F), Human Intelligence Collectors (35M), Signals Intelligence (35 N/P - also known as SOT-A and SOT-B as related to their positions on SFODA and SFODB teams), Intelligence Officers (35 D/E/F), and Counterintelligence Special Agents (35L/351L).
Basic Element – SF Operational Detachment-A (SFODA) composition
A Special Forces company normally consists of six Operational Detachments-A (ODA or "A-Teams").[35][36] Each ODA specializes in an infiltration skill or a particular mission-set (e.g. Military Freefall (HALO), combat diving, mountain warfare, maritime operations, etc.). An ODA is identified by its group, battalion, company, and the team itself. For example, ODA 1234 would be the fourth team in the third company of the second battalion of 1st Special Forces Group.

An ODA consists of 12 soldiers, each of whom has a specific function (MOS or Military Occupational Specialty) on the team; however, all members of an ODA conduct cross-training. The ODA is led by an 18A (Detachment Commander), a Captain, and a 180A (Assistant Detachment Commander) who is their second in command, usually a Warrant Officer One or Chief Warrant Officer Two. The team also includes the following enlisted soldiers: one 18Z (Operations Sergeant) (known as the "Team Sergeant"), usually a Master Sergeant, one 18F (Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant), usually a Sergeant First Class, and two each, 18Bs (Weapons Sergeant), 18Cs (Engineer Sergeant), 18Ds (Medical Sergeant), and 18Es (Communications Sergeant), usually Sergeants First Class, Staff Sergeants or Sergeants. This organization facilitates 6-man "split team" operations, redundancy, and mentoring between a senior NCO and their junior assistant.[citation needed]

Qualifications

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A Special Forces candidate conducts a pre-mission rehearsal with Army ROTC cadets role-playing guerrilla fighters during ROBIN SAGE.

Soldiers from 1st Special Forces Group conduct high-altitude low-opening (HALO) jump over Yakima training center, c. 2014

20th Special Forces Group soldiers conduct dive operations
The basic eligibility requirements to be considered for entry into the Special Forces are:

Be age 20–36[37]
Be a U.S. citizen
Be a high school graduate
Score a General Technical score of 110 or higher or a combat operation score of 110 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
Airborne qualified or volunteer for Airborne training
Must pass the Physical Fitness Assessment with at least 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, 6 pull-ups, and run two miles in a maximum of 15 minutes and 12 seconds
Meet medical fitness standards as outlined in SF Physical IAW AR 40-501
Must successfully complete the Pre-Basic Task list
Eligible for a secret security clearance
Swim 50 m wearing boots and ACUs prior to SFQC
Must have 20/20 or corrected to 20/20 in both near and distant vision in both eyes
One year of college is preferred, but it is not mandatory for enlistment
Selection and training
Main article: United States Army Special Forces selection and training
The Special Forces soldier trains on a regular basis over the course of their entire career. The initial formal training program for entry into Special Forces is divided into four phases collectively known as the Special Forces Qualification Course or, informally, the "Q Course". The length of the Q Course changes depending on the applicant's primary job field within Special Forces and their assigned foreign language capability, but will usually last between 55 and 95 weeks. After successfully completing the Special Forces Qualification Course, Special Forces soldiers are then eligible for many advanced skills courses. These include, but are not limited to, the Military Free Fall Parachutist Course (MFF), the Combat Diver Qualification Course, Special Operations Combat Medic and the Special Forces Sniper Course (SFSC). [38]

Special Forces MOS descriptions
18A – Special Forces Officer[39]
180A – Special Forces Warrant Officer[40]
18B – Special Forces Weapons Sergeant[41]
18C – Special Forces Engineer Sergeant[42]
18D – Special Forces Medical Sergeant[43]
18E – Special Forces Communications Sergeant[44]
18F – Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant[45]
18X – Special Forces Candidate (Active Duty and National Guard Enlistment Option)[46]
18Z – Special Forces Operations Sergeant
Uniforms and insignia
Green beret

Special Forces soldiers prepare for a combat diving training operation on a US Naval ship near Okinawa, Japan in 1956, wearing their green berets

Special Forces soldiers participate in the graduation ceremony in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 2014, wearing their green berets
U.S. Army Special Forces adopted the green beret unofficially in 1954 after searching for headgear that would set them visually apart. Members of the 77th SFG began searching through their accumulated berets and settled on the rifle green color from Captain Miguel de la Peña's collection. Captain Frank Dallas had the new beret designed and produced in small numbers for the members of the 10th & 77th Special Forces Groups.[47]

Their new headdress was first worn at a retirement parade at Fort Bragg on 12 June 1955 for Lieutenant General Joseph P. Cleland, the now-former commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Onlookers thought that the operators were a foreign delegation from NATO. In 1956 General Paul D. Adams, the post commander at Fort Bragg, banned the wearing of the distinctive headdress,[48] (although members of the Special Forces continued to wear it surreptitiously[49]). This was reversed on 25 September 1961 by Department of the Army Message 578636, which designated the green beret as the exclusive headdress of the Army Special Forces.[50]

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized them for use exclusively by the U.S. Special Forces. Preparing for a 12 October visit to the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the president sent word to the center's commander, Colonel William P. Yarborough, for all Special Forces soldiers to wear green berets as part of the event. The president felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. In 1962, he called the green beret "a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom."[47]

Forrest Lindley, a writer for the newspaper Stars and Stripes who served with Special Forces in Vietnam said of Kennedy's authorization: "It was President Kennedy who was responsible for the rebuilding of the Special Forces and giving us back our Green Beret. People were sneaking around wearing [them] when conventional forces weren't in the area and it was sort of a cat and mouse game. Then Kennedy authorized the Green Beret as a mark of distinction, everybody had to scramble around to find berets that were really green. We were bringing them down from Canada. Some were handmade, with the dye coming out in the rain."[51]

Kennedy's actions created a special bond with the Special Forces, with specific traditions carried out since his funeral when a sergeant in charge of a detail of Special Forces soldiers guarding the grave placed his beret on the coffin.[51] The moment was repeated at a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of JFK's death – General Michael D. Healy (ret.), the last commander of Special Forces in Vietnam and later a commander of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, spoke at Arlington National Cemetery, after which a wreath in the form of a green beret was placed on Kennedy's grave.[51]

Distinctive unit insignia

Special Forces distinctive unit insignia
A silver color metal and enamel device 1 1/8 inches (2.86 cm) in height consisting of a pair of silver arrows in saltire, points up and surmounted at their junction by the V-42 stiletto silver dagger with black handle point up; all over and between a black motto scroll arcing to the base and inscribed "DE OPPRESSO LIBER" in silver letters.[52]

The insignia is the crossed arrow collar insignia (insignia of the branch) of the First Special Force, World War II combined with the fighting knife which is of a distinctive shape and pattern only issued to the First Special Service Force. The motto is translated as "From Oppression We Will Liberate Them."[52]

The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 8 July 1960. The insignia of the 1st Special Forces was authorized to be worn by personnel of the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and its subordinate units on 7 March 1991. The wear of the insignia by the U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and its subordinate units was canceled and it was authorized to be worn by personnel of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and their subordinate units not authorized a distinctive unit insignia in their own right and amended to change the symbolism on 27 October 2016.[52]

Shoulder sleeve insignia

Airborne Command SSI, worn by classified units—such as the Army's new special forces groups— from 1952–1955

1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) SSI, established 1955 and worn by all of its special forces groups, past and present
The US Army's 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) is worn by all those assigned to the command and its subordinate units that have not been authorized their own SSI, such as the Special Forces Groups. According to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the shape and items depicted in the SSI have special meaning: "The arrowhead alludes to the American Indian's basic skills in which Special Forces personnel are trained to a high degree. The dagger represents the unconventional nature of Special Forces operations, and the three lightning flashes, their ability to strike rapidly by Sea, Air or Land." Army Special Forces were the first Special Operations unit to employ the "sea, air, land" concept nearly a decade before units like the Navy SEALs were created.[53]

Prior to the establishment of the 1st Special Forces Command SSI, the special forces groups that stood up between 1952 and 1955 wore the Airborne Command SSI. According to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, the Airborne Command SSI was reinstated on 10 April 1952—after being disbanded in 1947—and authorized for wear by certain classified units[54]—such as the newly formed 10th and 77th Special Forces Groups—until the establishment of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) SSI on 22 August 1955.[53]

Special Forces Tab

Special Forces Qualification Tab
Introduced in June 1983, the Special Forces Tab is a service school qualification tab awarded to soldiers who complete one of the Special Forces Qualification Courses. Unlike the Green Beret, soldiers who are awarded the Special Forces Tab are authorized to wear it for the remainder of their military careers, even when not serving with Special Operations units. The cloth tab is an olive drab arc tab 3 1/4 inches (8.26  cm) in length and 11/16-inch (1.75  cm) in height overall, the designation "SPECIAL FORCES" in black letters 5/16-inch (.79  cm) in height and is worn on the left sleeve of utility uniforms above a unit's Shoulder Sleeve Insignia and below the President's Hundred Tab (if so awarded). The metal Special Forces Tab replica comes in two sizes, full and dress miniature. The full size version measures 5/8-inch (1.59 cm) in height and 1 9/16 inches (3.97 cm) in width. The miniature version measures 1/4-inch (.64 cm) in height and 1 inch (2.54 cm) in width. Both are teal blue with yellow border trim and letters and are worn above or below ribbons or medals on the Army Service Uniform.[55][56][57]

Award eligibility:[55][56]

1) Basic Eligibility Criteria. Any person meeting one of the criteria below may be awarded the Special Forces (SF) tab:
1.1) Successful completion of U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) approved Active Army (AA) institutional training leading to SF qualification.
1.2) Successful completion of a USAJFKSWCS approved Reserve Component (RC) SF qualification program.
1.3) Successful completion of an authorized unit administered SF qualification program.
2) Active Component institutional training. The SF Tab may be awarded to all personnel who meet the following:
2.1) For successful completion of the Special Forces Qualification Course or Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course (previously known as the Special Forces Officer Course). These courses are/were conducted by the USAJFKSWC (previously known as the U.S. Army Institute for Military Assistance).
2.2) Prior to 1 January 1988, for successful completion of the then approved program of instruction for Special Forces qualification in a Special Forces Group, who were subsequently awarded, by a competent authority, SQI "S" in Career Management Field 18 (enlisted), or SQI "3" in Functional Area 18 (officer).
3) Reserve Component (RC) SF qualification programs. The SF Tab may be awarded to all personnel who successfully complete an RC SF qualification program according to TRADOC Regulation 135–5, dated 1 June 1988 or its predecessors and who were subsequently awarded, by a competent authority, SQI "S" or "3" in MOS 11B, 11C, 12B, 05B, 91B, or ASI "5G" or "3." The USAJFKSWCS will determine individual entitlement for an award of the SF Tab based on historical review of Army, Continental Army Command (CONARC), and TRADOC regulations prescribing SF qualification requirements in effect at the time the individual began an RC SF qualification program.
4) Unit administered SF qualification programs. The SF Tab may be awarded to all personnel who successfully completed unit administered SF qualification programs as authorized by regulation. The USAJFKSWCS will determine individual entitlement to an award of the SF Tab based upon a historical review of regulations prescribing SF qualification requirements in effect at the time the individual began a unit administered SF qualification program.
5) Former wartime service. The Special Forces Tab may be awarded retroactively to all personnel who performed the following wartime service:
5.1) 1942 through 1973. Served with a Special Forces unit during wartime and were either unable to or not required to attend a formal program of instruction but were awarded SQI "S", "3", "5G" by the competent authority.
5.2) Prior to 1954. Service for at least 120 consecutive days in one of the following organizations:
5.2.1) 1st Special Service Force, August 1942 to December 1944.
5.2.2) OSS Detachment 101, April 1942 to September 1945.
5.2.3) OSS Jedburgh Detachments, May 1944 to May 1945.
5.2.4) OSS Operational Groups, May 1944 to May 1945.
5.2.5) OSS Maritime Unit, April 1942 to September 1945.
5.2.6) 6th Army Special Reconnaissance Unit (Alamo Scouts), February 1944 to September 1945.
5.2.7) 8240th Army Unit, June 1950 to July 1953.
5.2.8) 1954 through 1975. Any company grade officer or enlisted member awarded the CIB or CMB while serving for at least 120 consecutive days in one of the following type organizations:
5.2.8a) SF Operational Detachment-A (A-Team).
5.2.8b) Mobile Strike Force.
5.2.8c) SF Reconnaissance Team.
5.2.8d) SF Special Project Unit.
Camouflage pattern
During the Vietnam War, the Green Berets of the 5th Special Forces Group wanted the Tigerstripe camouflage clothing be made. So they contracted with Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian producers to make fatigues and other items such as boonie hats using tigerstripe fabric. When Tigerstripes make a comeback in the 21st century, they are used by Green Berets for OPFOR drills.

From 1981 to the mid-2000s, they had worn the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU).

Since the War on Terror, they had been wearing MultiCam and Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniforms during different missions. They did wear the ones in Universal Camouflage Pattern but were getting rid by MultiCam and OCP.

Yarborough knife
This knife was designed and built by Bill Harsey in collaboration with Chris Reeve Knives. Starting in 2002, all graduates of the qualification course were awarded a Yarborough knife, designed by Bill Harsey Jr. and named after Lt. Gen. William Yarborough, considered the father of the modern Special Forces. All knives awarded are individually serial-numbered and all awardees' names are recorded in a special logbook.[citation needed]

Vehicles

A GMV-S equipped with a Mk 19 grenade launcher in Afghanistan (2003)
During the Green Berets' missions in other nations, they would use Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV)-S Humvees for different uses or technicals for patrol of the rugged terrain and for their clandestine operations as the nature of their missions are classified. In recent years they also drive the M1288 GMV 1.1 variant of the Army Ground Mobility Vehicle made by General Dynamics as well, that can have new add-on armor kits manufactured by TenCate Advanced Armor for better protection.[citation needed] As well as the Oshkosh M-ATV Special Forces variant MRAPs.

For aircraft other than the ones used by the US military and its special forces/special operations forces units, they extensively used the CIA-operated Mi-8s and Mi-17s military helicopters in Afghanistan during the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War. The 2-acre (8,100 m2) site is dominated by a black granite wall engraved with the names of those service members who died as a result of their service in Vietnam and South East Asia during the war. The wall, completed in 1982, has since been supplemented with the statue The Three Soldiers and the Vietnam Women's Memorial.

The memorial is in Constitution Gardens, adjacent to the National Mall and just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial is maintained by the National Park Service, and receives around 3 million visitors each year. The Memorial Wall was designed by American architect Maya Lin. In 2007, it was ranked tenth on the "List of America's Favorite Architecture" by the American Institute of Architects. As a National Memorial, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Contents
1 Appearance
1.1 Memorial Wall
1.1.1 Names
1.2 The Three Servicemen
1.3 Women's Memorial
1.4 In Memory memorial plaque
2 Ritual
3 History
3.1 Opposition to design and compromise
3.2 Building the memorial
3.2.1 Timeline for those listed on the wall
3.3 Addition of the Women's Memorial
3.4 Memorial plaque
3.5 Education center
4 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection
5 Inspired works
5.1 Traveling replicas
5.2 Fixed replicas
5.3 As a memorial genre
6 Cultural representations
7 Vandalism
8 See also
9 References
9.1 Footnotes
9.2 Works cited
10 Further reading
11 External links
Appearance

An aerial photograph of "The Wall" taken on April 26, 2002, by the United States Geological Survey. The dots visible along the length of the angled wall are visitors. For a satellite view of the Wall in relation to other monuments, see Constitution Gardens.
Memorial Wall
The Memorial Wall is made up of two 246-foot-9-inch (75.21 m) long black granite walls, polished to a high finish, and etched with the names of the servicemen being honored in 140 panels of horizontal rows with regular typeface and spacing.[2][3] The walls are sunken into the ground, with the earth behind them. At the highest tip (the apex where they meet), they are 10.1 feet (3.1 m) high, and they taper to a height of 8 inches (200 mm) at their extremities. Symbolically, this is described as a "wound that is closed and healing" and exemplifies the Land art movement of the 1960s which produced sculptures that sought to reconnect with the natural environment.[4] The stone for the 144 panels was quarried in Bangalore, India.[5]

One wall points toward the Washington Monument, the other in the direction of the Lincoln Memorial, meeting at an angle of 125° 12′.[6] Each wall has 72 panels, 70 listing names (numbered 1E through 70E and 70W through 1W), and two very small blank panels at the extremities.[7] There is a pathway along the base of the Wall where visitors may walk.

The wall originally listed 57,939 names when it was dedicated in 1982;[7] however other names have since been added and as of May 2018 there were 58,320 names, including eight women. The number of names on the wall is different than the official number of U.S. Vietnam War deaths, which is 58,220 as of May 2018.[8] The names inscribed are not a complete list of those who are eligible for inclusion as some names were omitted at the request of families.[9] Directories containing all of the names are located on nearby podiums at both ends of the monument where visitors may locate specific names.

The memorial has had some unforeseen maintenance issues. In 1984, cracks were detected in the granite and, as a result, two of the panels were temporarily removed in 1986 for study. More cracks were later discovered in 2010. There are a number of hypotheses about the cause of the cracks, the most common being due to thermal cycling. In 1990, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund purchased several blank panels to use in case any were ever damaged; these were placed into storage at Quantico Marine Base.[10][11] Two of the blank panels were shattered by the 2011 Virginia earthquake.[12]

Names

One panel of The Wall, displaying some of the names of fallen U.S. service members from the Vietnam War.
Inscribed in the memorial are the names of service members classified as "declared dead"; as the memorial contains names of individuals who had died due to circumstances other than killed in action, including murder, vehicle accidents, drowning, heart attack, animal attack, snake bites and others.[13] Also included are the names of those whose status is unknown, which typically means "missing in action" (MIA). The names are inscribed in Optima typeface, designed by Hermann Zapf.[4] Information about the rank, unit, and decorations is not given.

Those who are declared dead are denoted by a diamond, and those who are status unknown are denoted with a cross. When the death of one who was previously missing is confirmed, a diamond is superimposed over the cross. If the missing were to return alive, which has never occurred to date, the cross is to be circumscribed by a circle.[7]

The earliest date of eligibility for a name to be included on the memorial is November 1, 1955, which corresponds to President Eisenhower deploying the Military Assistance Advisory Group to train the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The last date of eligibility is May 15, 1975, which corresponds to the final day of the Mayaguez incident.[14] There are circumstances that allow for a name to be added to the memorial, but the death must be directly attributed to a wound received within the combat zone while on active duty. In such cases, the determination is made by the Department of Defense.[7] In these cases, the name is added according to the date of injury—not the date of death. The names are listed in chronological order, starting at the apex on panel 1E on July 8, 1959, moving day by day to the end of the eastern wall at panel 70E, which ended on May 25, 1968, starting again at panel 70W at the end of the western wall which completes the list for May 25, 1968, and returning to the apex at panel 1W in 1975. There are some deaths that predate July 8, 1959,[7] including the death of Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. in 1956.

The names of 32 men were erroneously included in the memorial, and while those names remain on the wall, they have been removed from the databases and printed directories.[7] The extra names resulted from a deliberate decision to err on the side of inclusiveness, with 38 questionable names being included. One person, whose name was added as late as 1992, had gone AWOL immediately upon his return to the United States after his second completed tour of duty. His survival only came to the attention of government authorities in 1996. These survivor names could be removed if the panel their name is on were to be replaced in the future.[15][16][17][18]

The Three Servicemen

The Three Soldiers by Frederick Hart (1984)

Detail of The Three Soldiers
Main article: The Three Soldiers
A short distance away from the wall is another Vietnam veterans memorial, a bronze statue named The Three Servicemen (sometimes called The Three Soldiers). The statue depicts three soldiers, purposefully identifiable as European American, African American, and Hispanic American. In their final arrangement, the statue and the Wall appear to interact with each other, with the soldiers looking on in solemn tribute at the names of their fallen comrades. The distance between the two allows them to interact while minimizing the effect of the addition on Lin's design.

Women's Memorial
Main article: Vietnam Women's Memorial
The Vietnam Women's Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses. It serves as a reminder of the importance of women in the conflict. It depicts three uniformed women with a wounded soldier. It is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and is located on National Mall in Washington, D.C., a short distance south of The Wall, north of the Reflecting Pool.[19][20]

In Memory memorial plaque
A memorial plaque, authorized by an Act of Congress (Pub.L. 106–214 (text) (pdf)), was dedicated on November 10, 2004, at the northeast corner of the plaza surrounding the Three Soldiers statue to honor veterans who died after the war as a direct result of injuries suffered in Vietnam, but who fall outside Department of Defense guidelines. The plaque is a carved block of black granite, 3 by 2 feet (0.91 by 0.61 m), inscribed "In memory of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. We honor and remember their sacrifice."

Ruth Coder Fitzgerald, the founder of The Vietnam War In Memory Memorial Plaque Project, worked for years to have the In Memory Memorial Plaque completed. The organization has been disbanded, but their web site is maintained by the Vietnam War Project at Texas Tech University.[21][22]

Ritual
Visitors to the memorial may take a piece of paper and place it over a name on the wall and rub a wax crayon or graphite pencil over it as a memento of their loved ones.[23] This is called rubbing.[24]

Visitors to the memorial began leaving sentimental items at the memorial at its opening. One story claims this practice began during construction when a Vietnam veteran threw the Purple Heart his brother received posthumously into the concrete of the memorial's foundation. Several thousand items are left at the memorial each year. The largest item left at the memorial was a sliding glass storm door with a full-size replica "tiger cage". The door was painted with a scene from Vietnam and the names of U.S. POWs and MIAs from the conflict.[25]

History

The Main Navy and Munitions Building site, with the Munitions buildings behind the Navy building
On April 27, 1979, four years after the Fall of Saigon, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) was incorporated as a non-profit organization to establish a memorial to veterans of the Vietnam War. Much of the impetus behind the formation of the fund came from a wounded Vietnam War veteran, Jan Scruggs, who was inspired by the film The Deer Hunter, with support from fellow Vietnam veterans such as West Point and Harvard Business School graduate John P. Wheeler III.[4] Eventually, $8.4 million was raised by private donations.[7]

On July 1, 1980, a site covering two acres next to the Lincoln Memorial was chosen and authorized by Congress[4] where the World War I Munitions Building previously stood. Congress announced that the winner of a design competition would design the park. By the end of the year 2,573 registered for the design competition with a prize of $20,000. On March 30, 1981, 1,421 designs were submitted. The designs were displayed at an airport hangar at Andrews Air Force Base for the selection committee, in rows covering more than 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) of floor space. Each entry was identified by number only. All entries were examined by each juror; the entries were narrowed down to 232, then to 39. Finally, the jury selected entry number 1026, which had been designed by Maya Lin.[7]

Opposition to design and compromise
See also: Maya Lin § Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The selected design was very controversial, in particular, its unconventional design, its black color and its lack of ornamentation.[26] Some public officials voiced their displeasure, calling the wall "a black gash of shame."[27] Two prominent early supporters of the project, H. Ross Perot and James Webb, withdrew their support once they saw the design. Said Webb, "I never in my wildest dreams imagined such a nihilistic slab of stone."[28] James Watt, secretary of the interior under President Ronald Reagan, initially refused to issue a building permit for the memorial due to the public outcry about the design.[29] Since its early years, criticism of the Memorial's design faded. In the words of Scruggs, "It has become something of a shrine."[27]

Negative reactions to Maya Lin's design created a controversy; a compromise was reached by commissioning Frederick Hart (who had placed third in the original design competition) to produce a bronze figurative sculpture in the heroic tradition. Opponents of Lin's design had hoped to place this sculpture of three soldiers at the apex of the wall's two sides. Lin objected strenuously to this, arguing that this would make the soldiers the focal point of the memorial, and her wall a mere backdrop. A compromise was reached, and the sculpture was placed off to one side to minimize the impact of the addition on Lin's design. On October 13, 1982, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the erection of a flagpole to be grouped with sculptures.

Building the memorial
On March 11, 1982, the revised design was formally approved, and on March 26, 1982, the ground was formally broken. Stone from Bangalore, India, was chosen because of its reflective quality;[4] Swedish and Canadian stone was opposed, as those countries were destinations for draft evaders.[citation needed] Stone-cutting and fabrication were done in Barre, Vermont.[5] Stones were then shipped to Memphis, Tennessee, where the names were etched. The etching was completed using a photoemulsion and sandblasting process. Typesetting of the original 57,939 names on the wall was performed by Datalantic in Atlanta, Georgia. The negatives used in the process are in storage at the Smithsonian Institution.

The memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982, as part of a five-day ceremony that began on November 10, 1982, presided over by President Ronald Reagan, and which involved a procession of tens of thousands of Vietnam War veterans.[4] About two years later the Three Soldiers statue was dedicated.


Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall with Christmas ornaments
Timeline for those listed on the wall

A U.S. Marine at Vietnam Veterans Memorial on July 4, 2002

This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. In particular, this list has no description and the criterion for inclusion is ambiguous. Please help clarify the section. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. (November 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
November 1, 1955 – Dwight D. Eisenhower deployed the Military Assistance Advisory Group, referred to now as MAAG, to train the South Vietnamese military units and secret police. However, the U.S. Department of Defense does not recognize this date since the men were supposedly training only the Vietnamese, so the officially recognized date is the formation of the Military Assistance Command Viet Nam, better known as MACV. This marked the official beginning of American involvement in the war as recognized by the memorial.
June 8, 1956 – The first official death in Vietnam was Technical Sergeant Richard Bernard Fitzgibbon Jr., United States Air Force, of Stoneham, Massachusetts, who was murdered by another U.S.A.F. airman.
October 21, 1957  – Capt. Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr., a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, was killed near Nha Trang, Vietnam. He served in Korea, where he was injured and awarded the Purple Heart, as well as in Vietnam. He was the first US Army soldier to be killed in the line of duty in the Vietnam War. A street at Fort Lewis, Washington, is named in his honor. He is buried at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.
July 8, 1959 – Chester M. Ovnand and Dale R. Buis were killed by guerrillas at Bien Hoa while watching the film The Tattered Dress. They are listed Nos. 1 and 2 at the wall's dedication. Ovnand's name is spelled on the memorial as "Ovnard," due to conflicting military records of his surname.
April 30, 1975 – Fall of Saigon. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs uses May 7, 1975, as the official end date for the Vietnam War era as defined by 38 U.S.C. § 101.
May 15, 1975 – 18 U.S. servicemen (14 Marines, two Navy corpsmen, and two Air Force crewmen) are killed on the last day of a rescue operation known as the Mayaguez incident with troops from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. They are the last servicemen listed on the timeline.
Since 1982, over 400 names have been added to the memorial, but not necessarily in chronological order. Some were men who died in Vietnam but were left off the list due to clerical errors. Others died after 1982, and their deaths were determined by the Department of Defense to be the direct result of their Vietnam War service. For those who died during the war, their name is placed in a position that relates to their date of death. For those who died after the war, their name is placed in a position that relates to the date of their injury. Because space is usually not available in the exact right place, names are placed as close to their correct chronological position as possible, but usually not in the exact spot. The order could be corrected as panels are replaced.[30]

Furthermore, over 100 names have been identified as misspelled. In some cases, the correction could be done in place. In others, the name had to be chiseled again elsewhere, moving them out of chronological order. Others have remained in place, with the misspelling, at the request of their family.[31]

Addition of the Women's Memorial
The Women's Memorial was designed by Glenna Goodacre for the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. Before Goodacre's design was selected, two design entries had been awarded as co-finalists – one a statue and the other a setting – however, the two designs were unable to be reconciled.[19][20] Glenna Goodacre's entry received an honorable mention in the contest and she was asked to submit a modified maquette (design model). Goodacre's original design for the Women's Memorial statue included a standing figure of a nurse holding a Vietnamese baby, which although not intended as such, was deemed a political statement, and it was asked that this be removed. She replaced them with a figure of a kneeling woman holding an empty helmet.[citation needed] On November 11, 1993, the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated. There is a smaller replica of that memorial at Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park in Angel Fire, New Mexico.

Memorial plaque
On November 10, 2000, a memorial plaque, authorized by Pub.L. 106–214 (text) (pdf), honoring veterans who died after the war as a direct result of injuries suffered in Vietnam, but who fall outside Department of Defense guidelines was dedicated. Ruth Coder Fitzgerald, the founder of The Vietnam War In Memory Memorial Plaque Project, worked for years and struggled against opposition to have the In Memory Memorial Plaque completed. The organization was disbanded, but their website[32] is maintained by the Vietnam War Project at Texas Tech University.[22]

Education center
In 2003, after some years of lobbying, the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund won permission from Congress to build The Education Center at The Wall. A 37,000-square-foot (3,400 m2) two-story museum, located below ground just west of the Maya Lin-designed memorial, was proposed to display the history of the Vietnam War and the multiple design competitions and artworks which make up the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Memorial Plaque.[33] The center would have also provided biographical details on and photographs of many of the 58,000 names listed on the Wall as well as the more than 6,600 servicemembers killed since 2001 fighting the War on Terror.[34] The $115-million museum would be jointly operated by the Park Service and the Fund.[33] A ceremonial groundbreaking for the project occurred in November 2012,[34] but insufficient fundraising led the Fund to cancel construction of the center in September 2018 and instead focus on digital education and outreach.[35][36][37]

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection

Various items left at "The Wall".

Flags and flowers
Items left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are collected by National Park Service employees and transferred to the NPS Museum Resource Center, which catalogs and stores all items except perishable organic matter (such as fresh flowers) and unaltered U.S. flags. The flags are redistributed through various channels.[38]

From 1992 to 2003, selected items from the collection were placed on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History as "Personal Legacy: The Healing of a Nation" including the Medal of Honor of Charles Liteky, who renounced it in 1986 by placing the medal at the memorial in an envelope addressed to then-president Ronald Reagan.

Inspired works
Traveling replicas

The Moving Wall at Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia
There are several transportable replicas of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial created so those who are not able to travel to Washington, D.C., would be able to simulate an experience of visiting the Wall.

Using personal finances, John Devitt founded Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd. With the help of friends, the half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, named The Moving Wall,[39] was built and first put on display to the public in Tyler, Texas, in 1984. The Moving Wall visits hundreds of small towns and cities throughout the U.S., staying five or six days at each site. Local arrangements for each visit are made months in advance by veterans' organizations and other civic groups. The desire for a hometown visit of The Moving Wall was so high that the waiting list became very long. Vietnam Combat Veterans built a second structure of The Moving Wall. A third structure was added in 1989. In 2001, one of the structures was retired due to wear.[citation needed] By 2006, there had been more than 1,000 hometown visits of The Moving Wall. The count of people who visited The Moving Wall at each display ranges from 5,000 to more than 50,000; the total estimate of visitors is in the tens of millions. As the wall moves from town to town on interstates, it is often escorted by state troopers and up to thousands of local citizens on motorcycles. Many of these are Patriot Guard Riders, who consider escorting The Moving Wall to be a "special mission", which is coordinated on their website. As it passes towns, even when it is not planning a stop in those towns, local veterans organizations sometimes plan for local citizens to gather by the highway and across overpasses to wave flags and salute the Wall.[39] The first Moving Wall structure to retire has been on permanent display at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Pittsburg, Kansas since 2004. The Memorial is open to the public with no admission fee, 24 hours a day, year-round.[40]

"The Wall That Heals" at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2016
Duluth, Minnesota holds the Northland Vietnam Veterans Memorial; a site that was dedicated on May 30, 1992.
The Wall That Heals[41] is a traveling half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial started in 1996 by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. A 53-foot (16 m) tractor-trailer transports the 250-foot (76 m) wall replica and converts to a mobile Education Center at each stop, showing letters and memorabilia left at The Wall in Washington, D.C., and more details about those whose names are shown. This half-scale replica has been retired to permanent display in front of the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona, PA. The VVMF has resumed a half-scale replica touring throughout the U. S. of The Wall That Heals. Their 2020 schedule can be found at 2020 Tour Schedule
Created by the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, The Traveling Wall is an 80% replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and is 360 feet (110 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) tall at its apex. It claims to be the largest traveling replica.
Created by Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard, Inc, The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a 3⁄5 scale of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and is almost 300 feet (91 m) long and 6 feet (1.8 m) tall at the center.
Created by Dignity Memorial, the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is 3⁄4 scale of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Fixed replicas
Located at 200 S. 9th Ave in Pensacola, Florida, the first permanent replica of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled on October 24, 1992. Now known as "Wall South," the half-size replica bears the names of all Americans killed or missing in Southeast Asia and is updated each Mother's Day. It is the centerpiece of Veterans Memorial Park Pensacola,[42] a 5+1⁄2-acre site overlooking Pensacola Bay, which also includes a World War I Memorial, a World War II Memorial, a Korean War Memorial, a Revolutionary War Memorial and a running series of plaques to honor local casualties from the Global War on Terror.[43] There is also a Purple Heart Memorial, a Marine Corps Aviation Bell Tower and a monument to the submarine lifeguards who rescued Navy pilots in World War II. A Global War on Terror Memorial is planned to be completed in 2017 and will include an artifact from the World Trade Center as a component of the sculpture.[44]

Located in Fox Park in Wildwood, New Jersey, The Wildwoods Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall was unveiled and dedicated on May 29, 2010. The memorial wall is an almost half-size granite replica of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the only permanent memorial north of the nation's capital.[45]

Plans for the Vietnam War Memorial located 401 East Ninth Street in Winfield, Kansas began in 1987 when friends who had gathered for a class reunion wanted to find a way to honor their fallen classmates. The project quickly grew from honoring only Cowley County servicemen to representing all 777 servicemen and nurses from Kansas who lost their lives or are missing in action from the Vietnam War.[46]

Located at Freedom Park in South Sioux City, Nebraska exists a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall that duplicates the original design. Dedicated in 2014, the 250-foot wall is constructed with black granite mined from the same quarry in India as the original.[47]

Located in Layton, Utah, the Layton Vietnam Memorial Wall at 437 N Wasatch Dr, 84041, contains the names of all 58,000 Americans who died in the war. According to Utah Vietnam Veterans of America, the wall is 80 percent of the original size of the memorial in Washington, D.C., and it is the only replica of its size west of the Mississippi. The memorial was officially opened and dedicated on July 14, 2018.

Located in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, opened in 2018. This Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall is 360-feet long, an 80 percent scale of the one in Washington D.C.

There is a full-sized replica located in Perryville, Missouri.

Located in Augusta, Georgia, opened in 2019, the Augusta-CSRA Vietnam War Veterans Memorial is not a replica but follows the principles set forth by the national monument of honoring those fallen in Vietnam with inscriptions of the names, 169 total, who made the supreme sacrifice in Vietnam.[48]

As a memorial genre
The first US memorial to an ongoing war, the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial in Irvine, California, is modeled on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in that it includes a chronological list of the dead engraved in dark granite. As the memorialized wars (in Iraq and Afghanistan) have not concluded, the Northwood Gratitude and Honor Memorial will be updated yearly. It has space for about 8000 names, of which 5,714 were engraved as of the Dedication of the Memorial on November 14, 2010.[49][50]

Cultural representations
The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall inspired over 60 songs, showing how the war has been represented in subsequent decades, performed by professional musicians and Vietnam veterans.[51] The songs present patriotic tributes to the names on the Wall, the perspective of families and friends, as well as recriminations and anti-war sentiment. One of the first songs released on record was "The Wall" by Britt Small & Festival, who performed the song at the memorial in November 1982, and subsequently released as a 7" single. This was followed by "Who are the names on the Wall?", by Vietnam veterans Michael J. Martin and Tim Holiday, also released in 1982. In 1983, contemporary folk artist Michael Jerling released "Long Black Wall" on the "CooP Fast Folk Musical Magazine (Vol. 2, No. 4) - Political Song", published by Fast Folk. Commercially successful songs include: "More Than a Name on the Wall" (1989) by The Statler Brothers, which peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart; "The Big Parade" (1989) by 10,000 Maniacs on the album Blind Man's Zoo, which reached #13 in the US Billboard chart; Guns N' Roses song "Civil War" (1991), which referenced the memorial, and reaching #4 in the US Billboard rock charts. Other well-known songs include "The Wall" (2014) by Bruce Springsteen on his album High Hopes and "Xmas in February" (1989) by Lou Reed, released on the album New York.[52]

Vandalism
There have been hundreds of incidents of vandalism at the memorial wall. Some of the most notable cases are:

In April 1988, when a swastika and various scratches were found etched in two of the panels.[53]
In 1993, someone burned one of the directory stands at the entrance to the memorial.[54]
On September 7, 2007, an oily substance was found by park rangers on the memorial's wall panels and paving stones. It was spread over an area of 50–60 feet (15–18 m). Memorial Fund founder Jan Scruggs deplored the scene, calling it an "act of vandalism on one of America's sacred places". The removal process took a few weeks to complete.[54]

The Three Soldiers (also known as The Three Servicemen) is a bronze statue by Frederick Hart. Unveiled on Veterans Day, November 11, 1984,[1] on the National Mall, it is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial[2] commemorating the Vietnam War.[3] It was the first representation of an African American on the National Mall.[4]

History
Creation and installation
Negative reactions to Maya Lin's design for the Memorial wall were so strong that several Congressmen complained, and Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt refused to issue a building permit. As the most highly ranked sculptor in the competition,[5] Frederick Hart was commissioned to create a sculpture in order to appease those who wanted a more traditional approach.

In a New York Times editorial, Vietnam Veteran Tom Carhart argued that without a heroic sculptural element the abstract design would put too much emphasis on the "shame and sorrow" of the Vietnam War.[6] Lin was furious at the adulteration of her design and called the decision to add Hart's piece "a coup," which "had nothing to do with how many veterans liked or disliked my piece." Lin asserted that she had not received a single negative letter from a veteran, adding that "most of them are not as conservative as Carhart."[7] Hart's addition was placed a distance away from the memorial wall in order to minimize the effect on her design.

These conflicting expectations made for a challenging project. As Hart saw it, his task was “to preserve and enhance the elegant simplicity and austerity of the existing design,” and “to create a sculpture which is in itself a moving evocation of the experience and service of the Vietnam Veteran.”[8]

Design and symbolism
In order to portray the major ethnic groups that were represented in the ranks of U.S. combat personnel that served in Vietnam, the statue's three men are purposely identifiable as European American (center), African American (right), and Latino American (left). These three figures were based on seven actual young men, of which two (the Caucasian-American and the African-American) were active-duty Marines at the time that the sculpture was commissioned. The Caucasian figure was modeled after James E. Connell III, then a Corporal in the Marines; the African-American figure was modeled after three men, Marine Corporal Terrance Green, Rodney Sherrill and Scotty Dillingham; the Hispanic figure was modeled after Guillermo Smith De Perez DeLeon and Rene Farkass.[9]


Fact Sheet for the dedication of The Three Soldiers Statue at the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial on November 11, 1984

Press Release from The Three Soldiers Statue dedication on Nov. 11, 1984
The lost wax technique was used to cast the sculpture in bronze. It was Hart's first major work in bronze.[10]

Artist's intent
Of the memorial, the architect has suggested,

'I see the wall as a kind of ocean, a sea of sacrifice that is overwhelming and nearly incomprehensible in the sweep of names. I place these figures upon the shore of that sea, gazing upon it, standing vigil before it, reflecting the human face of it, the human heart.

The portrayal of the figures is consistent with history. They wear the uniform and carry the equipment of war; they are young. The contrast between the innocence of their youth and the weapons of war underscores the poignancy of their sacrifice. There is about them the physical contact and sense of unity that bespeaks the bonds of love and sacrifice that is the nature of men at war. And yet they are each alone. Their strength and their vulnerability are both evident. Their true heroism lies in these bonds of loyalty in the face of their awareness and their vulnerability.'[11]

The statue and the Wall appear to interact with each other, with the soldiers looking on in solemn tribute at the names of their fallen comrades. Noted sculptor Jay Hall Carpenter, Hart's assistant on the project, explains the sculpture was positioned especially for that effect: "We carried a full-size mockup of the soldiers around the memorial site trying many locations until we hit upon the perfect spot. It was here that the sculpture appeared to be looking over a sea of the fallen."[11]

Of his work on The Three Soldiers, Hart said he would put the “folds of those fatigue jackets and pants up against the folds of any [carved] medieval angel you can find.”[12]

Replicas
The design of The Three Soldiers was copyrighted by Hart and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Reproductions were sold on many pieces of memorabilia, including t-shirts, keychains, and snowglobes. Hart donated his share of the profits to a non-profit which provides name rubbings to families of veterans.[13]

A replica of the sculpture was created and dedicated on July 12, 2008, in Apalachicola, Florida.[14]

De oppresso liber is the motto of the United States Army Special Forces.


Contents
1 Meaning
1.1 United States Army Special Forces tradition
1.2 Actual translation
1.2.1 Grammatical structure
1.2.2 Similar phrases
2 Lineage
3 Sculpture
4 Legacy
5 References
6 External links
Meaning
United States Army Special Forces tradition
In the United States Army Special Forces, the motto is traditionally believed to mean "to free from oppression" or "to liberate the oppressed" in Latin.[1]

Actual translation
A correct translation of the Latin phrase de oppresso liber would be "from (being) an oppressed man, (to being) a free one".

Grammatical structure
The preposition de here means "from" in the sense of a change from one status to another,[2] not intending separation from the oppressed, but moving from a source in the oppressed.[3] Compare Ovid Fasti 5, 616: inque deum de bove versus erat, "he had been changed from an ox into a god", or Juvenal 7, 197: fies de rhetore consul, "from an orator you will become a consul". Oppresso is the past participle of opprimere ("to oppress") in the ablative case as governed by de, meaning "an oppressed person". The adjective Liber is in the nominative case, "a free person".

Similar phrases
The motto resembles a quote from St. Augustine:[4] corripiendi sunt inquieti, [...] oppressi liberandi, "the turbulent have to be corrected, [...] the oppressed to be liberated". See also Isaiah 1:17: subvenite oppresso, "relieve the oppressed".

Lineage

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The phrase stems from the exploits of World War II Office of Strategic Services Jedburgh/Sussex Teams operating behind the lines in France. Colonel Aaron Bank, father of United States Army Special Forces, and his teams enabled the French Resistance to grow and oppose the occupying German Army. The unconventional warfare tactics of Colonel Bank differed from the conventional warfare tactics of the rest of the United States Army in that they included clandestine support for one side of an existing conflict and that they were subversive to the Nazi forces in power.

Sculpture
The sculpture America's Response Monument is subtitled De Oppresso Liber. It is a life-and-a-half scale bronze statue located in the West Street lobby of One World Financial Center opposite Ground Zero in New York City. Unofficially known as the Horse Soldier Statue, it is the first public monument[5] dedicated to the United States Special Forces and commemorates the servicemen and women of America’s Special Operations response to 9/11, including those who fought in the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom, which led to the initial defeat of the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was conceived by a private citizen, sculptor Douwe Blumberg, and commissioned by an anonymous group of Wall Street bankers who lost friends in the 9/11 attacks.

The statue was dedicated on November 11, 2011 in a ceremony led by Vice President Joe Biden and Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commander of Special Operations Command.[6]

Legacy
The distinct unit insignia inspired that of the 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade of Iran, the establishment of which was assisted by advisors from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School before the 1979 Iranian Revolution.[7]