Grace Napolitano: “any potential changes to the Vietnam Memorial or any of these magnificent memorials on our National Mall must be…”

“any potential changes to the Vietnam Memorial or any of these magnificent memorials on our National Mall must be considered very carefully. The Wall is an incredibly powerful tool for reconciliation and healing as we have heard, and, as I have heard from many of my constituents, it is also a permanent record of sacrifice and loss. Millions of Americans feel a deep and personal connection to The Wall, and we in Congress are its stewards. In this instance a visitor center would allow the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to provide visitors to this wall a context that might further their understanding of the war. For many visitors, the list of over 50,000 names inscribed on black granite is certainly moving, but their personal understanding of, and connection to, the events surrounding the conflict is very limited. A small underground visitor center would become an a powerful tool in expanding visitors' connection with the Memorial and its subject matter. Certainly, there is more work to be done even after this legislation is enacted. How best to design and construct the center so that it will not intrude upon The Wall itself or any other memorial on the Mall, as well as how best to fund staff and maintain the center must all be explored.”