The Vietnam War In Memory Memorial plaque project was inaugurated in June, 1995, independently of the In Memory ceremonies organized in 1993 by the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The project's director, Ruth Coder Fitzgerald, along with friends and family members in similar circumstances, initiated this nationwide effort. Her brother, John, who died in 1992, of non-Hodgkins lymphoma attributed to exposure to Agent Orange, was included in the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial's first In Memory Memorial Day ceremony. Following the dissolution of the Friends organization, the 1998 Memorial Day In Memory ceremony was administered by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which subsequently opted to hold a single annual In Memory ceremony on a Monday in April. The nonprofit Vietnam War In Memory Memorial, Inc. plaque project is independent of and not allied with The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Return to Main Page