Retirement Gala For Jan C. Scruggs, Founder Of VVMF, To Be Held On May 30, 2016

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) will host a retirement gala honoring Jan C. Scruggs on May 30, 2016 at the Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. The Jan C. Scruggs Retirement Gala – Celebrating a Legacy of Service – will honor the man who conceived the idea of building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and has spent nearly 40 years working on behalf of Vietnam veterans. The master of ceremonies for the gala will be Gary Sinise, Actor and Humanitarian. The keynote speaker will be former Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel.

In 1979, Scruggs conceived the idea of building a Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., as a tribute to all who served during one of the longest wars in American history. Scruggs was a wounded and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, having served in the 199^th Light Infantry Brigade of the U.S. Army. He felt a memorial would serve as a healing device for a different kind of wound – one which was inflicted on our national psyche by the long and controversial Asian war.  Scruggs launched the effort with $2,800 of his own money and gradually gained the support of other Vietnam veterans in persuading Congress to provide a prominent location on federal government property somewhere in Washington, D.C. Today, The Wall is among the most visited memorials in the nation's capital.

At the gala, the West Point Alumni Glee Club will perform their Vietnam medley and Dr. Laura Kafka-Price will sing the National Anthem.

The Jan C. Scruggs Retirement Gala has been generously underwritten by Peter M. Holt and sponsored by TriWest Healthcare Alliance, USAA, and William F. Murdy.

All proceeds from the Jan C. Scruggs Retirement Gala will benefit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund as VVMF continues Jan's mission to honor veterans and educate future generations about America's legacy of service. For more information on the gala, please visit: www.vvmf.org/gala.

About Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is the nonprofit organization that founded the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall) in Washington, D.C. in 1982. VVMF continues to lead the way in paying tribute to our nation's Vietnam veterans and their families. VVMF's mission is to honor and preserve the legacy of service in America and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War and era.

VVMF is in the fundraising stages to build the Education Center at The Wall. The Center will be an interactive learning facility on the National Mall where our military heroes' stories and sacrifice will never be forgotten. The Education Center will feature the faces and stories of the more than 58,000 men and women on The Wall and honor America's Legacy of Service, including those serving in our nation's armed forces today. Time Warner is the Lead Gift Benefactor in the campaign to build the Education Center at The Wall. To learn more about VVMF and the Education Center at The Wall, visit www.vvmf.org or call 866-990-WALL.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:        
Heidi Zimmerman
[email protected] or 202-765-3773

SOURCE Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund