The Vietnam Veterans of America
CHAPTER #641
Silver Spring, Maryland
WASHING “THE WALL”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is one of several national visitor sites in Washington, DC designed to memorialize American lives lost, honor sacrifice, inspire patriotism, and bolster pride in the United States. Washing “The Wall” and clearing its area of debris, in collaboration with the National Park Service, was initiated and later adopted by VVA Chapter #641 in 1995-96. This has since become the Chapter’s cornerstone activity—integral to its portfolio of activities aimed at assisting fellow veterans, keeping veterans’ issues at the fore, educating the public about the Vietnam War, and advancing the programs and declared principles of the Vietnam Veterans of America organization.
PURPOSE
This document responds to the Chapter’s perceived need to delineate and set forth written Guidelines for conducting its monthly activity of washing “The Wall.” It is both intentional and purposeful that this document reflects a balance of the impassioned input of Chapter members drawing from their experiences, coupled with a blend of management lessons learned through the years.
RATIONALE
Historically, Chapter 641 has implemented numerous changes and many adjustments to its wall-washing activity in a seemingly elusive quest to “get it right.” No other Chapter activity has demanded nearly the scrutiny nor generated the levels of frustration and discord as the wall-washing. Despite that, not a single document exists to clarify relevant issues or provide comprehensive guidance on how best to conduct the activity. Oddly, there is no identifiable best-practice recorded to inform new approaches. What is recorded seems limited to brief narratives contained in archived minutes of random Chapter meetings since 1996. Then, as if keeping the tradition, yet another impromptu change was requested during the Chapter meeting on September 5, 2015. But, unlike the spur-of-the-moment type reactions of the past, members opted to give pause and thought to the total activity and follow up with reasoned discussion at their subsequent meetings.
MISSION STATEMENT
“We, the veterans who served during the Vietnam War, who embraced through sacrifice and service to country the most fundamental and cherished bonds of our democracy,” are thereby constrained to share upkeep of the national memorial dedicated to our fallen comrades whereat their aggrieved loved ones and surviving generations may prove it a welcoming space for reflection, introspection, comfort, and healing.
Washing The Wall is to the Vietnam veteran more than a solemn duty—it is arguably a vital extension of one’s post-service responsibility to: a) honor the sacred memory of the war’s dead, b) educate others about the Vietnam War and consequences thereof, and, c) foster camaraderie as a means for advancing the programs and declared principles of the Vietnam Veterans of America organization.
ACTIVITY FREQUENCY
Chapter 641 conducts its wall-washing activity on the first Saturday of each month—April through November—unless otherwise scheduled (e.g., in April owing to the annual Cherry Blossom Festivities, and in July when the fourth is celebrated either on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday). Furthermore, whenever daylight savings time ends prior to the first Saturday of November the wall-washing season ends in October due to darkness at the usual start time.
BEFORE THE OPENING CEREMONY
On the Thursday prior to the wall-washing, a Chapter designate shall contact the National Park Service and remind them of the need for a water connection on the immediate Saturday.
Prior to the opening ceremony, veterans milling about (and apparently not intending to participate in the ceremony) should be encouraged to either join in or else participate in setup operations.
Setup personnel should start making connections to the water as soon as the Park Service makes equipment available – whether before or after the opening ceremony.
The following assigned roles should be filled by Chapter members:
• Master of ceremonies – conducts opening ceremony, delineates procedures, conducts closing ceremony
• Hose person (2) – in charge of spraying
• Assistant hose person (2) – moves the hose as The Wall is sprayed
• Bucket person (2) – in charge of moving the buckets forward to the edge of the hosed-down area
• Assistant bucket person (2) – enforces the restriction on washing beyond the point of hose-down
CEREMONY
Each wall-washing activity begins and ends with a brief ceremony developed and implemented by the Chapter during the inaugural period “to underscore the seriousness of purpose.” The decision in this regard was informed by observed instances of frivolous behavior and random incidents involving safety on the part of a few volunteers. Presumably the ceremonies serve to discourage additional untoward behavior by others who too might regard the activity as “just entertainment.”
TIMELINE
0630—Opening Ceremony (Location: 3 Servicemen/Flag Plaza)
Greeting and Statement of Purpose
Pledge of Allegiance and Silence
Introduction/Recognition of Children, Students, and Groups
0635—Delineate Procedure: (e.g., 2 teams, hose, wet, wash, rinse, repeat, etc.)
Need to stress: Brushes must not be used on The Wall until a panel has first been hosed down. Brushes used for washing the sidewalk must not be used on The Wall. People must stay off the grass during wall-washing.
0637—Distribute Equipment; Remove Flowers/Artifacts (to grassy area)
0645—Begin Wall Washing
0730—End Wall Washing
Retrieve and Stow Equipment; sidewalk brooms need to be rinsed
Return Flowers/Artifacts (to original places)
0735—Closing Ceremony (Location: Apex); at discretion of the master of ceremonies
Announcements. Express gratitude to those whose names appear on The Wall.
Right hand Salute
0745—Dismiss
WALL-WASHING PROCESS
The equipment and supplies (buckets, brushes, detergent, hoses, nozzles and faucets) are provided and delivered to the wall and subsequently retrieved by the Park Service. Chapter 641 provides the volunteers and supervises the activity.
The opening ceremony segues without interruption to the following:
1. Volunteers are divvied equitably into two teams. Each team begins work at either the east or west end (P70) of the memorial and continues to (P1) the apex.
2. The hose for each team is connected and anchored. The hose is handled by two persons—one at the nozzle and the other to facilitate hose movement.
3. The wall is first wet down (soapy brushes should never contact the dry surface). Approximately ten panels are wetted at a time.
4. Other volunteers brush-wash the granite surface while the hose person moves ahead to pre-wet the next series of panels, ground lights and walkway, then backward to rinse soap from same.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the two teams reunite at the apex.
6. Flowers and artifacts are returned to their original place along the base of The Wall, and
7. Equipment is gathered and returned to the Park Service vehicle.
The closing ceremony should not commence until all equipment is retrieved and stowed, and volunteers are reassembled at the apex.
CHAPTER MEMBERS and COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers (adults, youth, and children) show up for the wall-washing either individually or in groups that vary in size and in age ranging from toddler to senior. All may, and often do, present simultaneously at any given wall-washing activity; sometimes in large numbers that pose a unique challenge. Chapter 641 members are expected to:
• Maintain mission focus at all times
• Treat all volunteers with kindness and respect
• Make deliberate effort to share and involve all volunteers
• Refer special guests for recognition to the activity leader or Chapter president.
Adult Volunteers—veterans, non-veterans, corporate groups, labor unions, college students, etc., are generally mission-focused. Camaraderie is important. However, the wall-washing activity must not be perceived as a social gathering.
• Chapter members assist with team assignment and moving (not bossing) people around.
• Remember: the Chapter does not own the wall; we are mere stewards for the short time it takes to ensure cleanliness and orderliness of the area.
Youth Volunteers—school classes, para-military groups, scout troops, etc., are expectedly chaperoned by a teacher or group leader. As noted on the Chapter’s website, “Generally, the Wall washing is solemn and respectful. But sometimes the combination of youth and water can turn a Boy Scout pilgrimage into a frolic.”
• Chapter members should be vigilant and prompt to discourage play or untoward behavior, and
• Chapter members should not become party to playfulness or pranks of any kind.
Children Volunteers—toddlers, kindergartners, grade schoolers, etc., are expectedly accompanied by their parent or adult guardian. Children are to be taught that the names on the wall are of a fallen father, mother, uncle, aunt, or other loved one, and “America should never forget them or what they did.”
• Chapter members might assist in teaching children about names on the wall.
• Chapter members might escort children on an educational walking tour to the nurses and three servicemen statues.
• Children should not be permitted nor unwittingly encouraged to regard this activity as playtime.
• For safety reasons (e.g., risk of being inadvertently knocked down, poked in the eye with a brush handle or worse) toddlers should not be allowed to roam among adult volunteers while the latter are working.
INVOLVING VOLUNTEERS
Through the years the Chapter has devoted much time and consideration to issues surrounding optimum volunteer involvement and management. Specific examples include:
• What to do when large numbers of individuals and multiple groups present simultaneously.
• How best to ensure all that show up, routinely unannounced, will be appropriately recognized and utilized?
• Should volunteer groups be required to reserve a date for their participation?
• How best to ensure that veterans are adequately recognized and involved?
• Some volunteers are patriotic-minded but not practiced in military rigor. These appear uncomfortable with the ceremonial ritual. What works best for involving these in the ceremonies? What explains/justifies the Chapter’s militarized approach to the ceremonies? Do the other “caretaker” groups differ in this regard? If so, how?
• Clarify the interdigitated roles of the Chapter and the Park Service (i.e., who is responsible for what? Does each invite volunteers without the other knowing?).
Experience to date discourages Chapter efforts to regulate the number of volunteers that appear for the wall-washing activity. Past efforts were unsuccessful. Thus the Chapter should not seek to regulate how many volunteers may participate in any given wall-washing. Rather, the Chapter should continue to seek flexible, efficacious approaches to managing any number of volunteers that show up such that each may fully share the activity and the rewarding after-feeling. Any new approach or change to an existing approach should hereafter be developed and presented first to the board of directors for consideration in light of past experiences and Chapter expectations, and in turn the board is to present it to the membership for final vote.
Veterans--In the recent past veterans were afforded the privilege of washing the last six panels of the wall (3 on each side of the apex). This complex approach proved somewhat disruptive in execution and only minimally effective for the veteran.
Proposed adjustment: When large groups present, assign at least one knowledgeable veteran to each team to educate and answer queries about the war or the wall—off to the side and out of the way of washers. Otherwise assign all veterans together with other adult volunteers. No special attention is warranted. After all, the focus of the activity should be “The Wall” and the names inscribed, not living veterans.
Children—In times past children have been given flowers to place in certain spaces at The Wall and have been called up for recognition during opening and closing ceremonies. This proved very effective for both child and parent/guardian. Special attention to children is a means of opening their minds to the mission at hand and supporting their education about “The Wall.”
Proposed Adjustment: With parent or guardian, children might wash panels within their height reach (e.g., the first three panels: 70, 69, and 68 at the far end of each wall). Develop and implement children activities aimed at protecting and keeping them out of harm’s way among working adults (e.g., Point out a name on the wall to children and tell them a short story about that person).
Groups—Past times have had groups both divvied and kept intact with seemingly similar results and effectiveness. Adults appear to resist their group being split more so than do students. Assigning groups together on either wall allows for picture ops and camaraderie with peers.
Proposed adjustment: The VVMW consists of a total 140 panels numbered 1-70 beginning at the apex. Divide the 70 panels of each wall (67 if adjusted for children) by the number of volunteers assigned to each team to determine the number of panels each volunteer may wash. (For example: 70 panels divided by 35 volunteers per team = 2 panels each) Develop in advance a quick reference matrix showing the intersection for several size groups.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
It is expected that Chapter members will attain greater clarity of mission and of their role and responsibility in the wall-washing activity; that key elements of the activity will be so delineated that any good-standing Chapter 641 member having a command persona may confidently lead the ceremony if called forth; that Chapter members will sense the resonance of their input throughout the guidelines and derive a heightened level of belonging and comradeship within the Chapter, and lastly, that levels of confusion, needless arguments, and frustration regarding this activity will be greatly reduced.
IMPLEMENTATION
This document and new changes to the wall-washing activity become effective Friday, April 1, 2016.
In lieu of the current practice of implementing knee-jerk type or per incident-based changes throughout the year, the wall-washing activity should be reviewed and Guidelines updated once annually in light of the Chapter’s total year experience and expectations—beginning at the end of each wall-washing season. Any new changes should be implemented at the start of the next season. However, minor or urgent adjustments might be implemented throughout the season at any time deemed appropriate.
CONCLUSION
The impassioned arguments of Chapter members heard during their September 5, 2015 meeting included at least five rhetorical words that had been also heard at various times prior: Respect— Sacrifice— Honor— Educate— Camaraderie. Ironically those same words are prominently used or alluded to on the Chapter’s website and as part of the VVA’s Declaration of Principles. Words not heard during said arguments, nor ever heard in context with the wall-washing activity, are those that connote fun, excitement, or a good time. Thus, the mission statement proposed above as well as other parts of this document are inspired by Chapter 641 members and include excerpts from the following:
1. “Honor with dignity the sacred memory of the war dead, and so in dignity, ensure that the lasting legacy of the fallen is responsibility toward, not exploitation of, their sacrifice.”
2. Educate the public (especially children and youth) about the Vietnam War and consequences thereof as this is essential to “the solemn responsibility of our survival, to bear the burden of what has been, so that tragedy once endured can never be forgotten. “
3. Camaraderie (loyalty, warm feelings) at The Wall involves positive dialogue and interactions among veterans, students, and community/special interest groups, “with full respect and support” to advancing the programs and declared principles of the Vietnam Veterans of America.