WASHINGTON -- ConocoPhillips has pledged $2 million to help fund the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, an educational facility being built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Memorial Fund.
The donation puts the Memorial Fund at around $14 million in pledges for the Center, which is estimated to cost between $75 million and $100 million. The Memorial Fund received a lead gift of $10 million from Time Warner in 2006.
ConocoPhillips is pleased to help in the funding of this [image-nocss] Memorial Center to honor Vietnam veterans, their families and all those who have served in America's armed forces, said Jim Mulva, chairman and CEO of ConocoPhillips.
In 1982, ConocoPhillips recognized the importance of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and made donations to make that treasured national monument possible, said Scruggs. Now, 25 years later, they still recognize the importance of teaching America's youth about the Vietnam War and remembering the Americans who answered their nation's call at that divisive time. I am pleased that ConocoPhillips is joining us to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center is being designed to enhance the Memorial experience for visitors by giving context to the names on The Wall. It will be a place to honor those who died and all who served, where the names on The Wall become visible and where the warrior is regarded separately from the war. It will be inspirational, educational and uplifting, a place for healing and reflection.
The architectural design for the Center is currently entering the approval process by the two commissions that must approve all new building on the National Mall: the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. While the design approval, fundraising and building schedule for the Memorial Center is approximate right now, groundbreaking is expected in 2010, with the Center being completed within 18 months after that.
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Today, through a series of outreach programs, it is dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, promoting healing, educating about the impact of the Vietnam War and is building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, an underground educational facility, near The Wall.
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