VCC Magazine Spring 2020

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S pring 2020 15 The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond is the nation’s premiere state memorial honoring those who have died in our 20th and 21st century conflicts. Dedicated in 1956, the Virginia War Memorial‘s Shrine of Memory was filled with the names of Virginians who paid the ultimate sacrifice in World War II and Korea. After the wars in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, names of the fallen from those conflicts were added, until nearly 12,000 were enshrined in glass and stone in the Shrine of Memory. Understanding the need for a living memorial, one that truly honored the names enshrined within, the Commonwealth of Virginia opened the Paul and Phyllis Galanti Education Center in 2010. It was named in honor of two Virginia citizens—Navy Commander Paul Galanti, who was shot down and held prisoner by the North Vietnamese for nearly seven years, and his wife Phyllis, who worked diligently for the fair treatment and release of her husband and his fellow Prisoners of War (POWs). The opening of the Galanti Education Center, with its exhibits, displays, and theater, allowed the Virginia War Memorial to take on a robust education mission, telling the stories of service and sacrifice. Led by an army of volunteer docents—most of whom are veterans themselves— thousands of visitors have discovered this incredible educational and enlightening resource. However, as the Global War on Terrorism entered its second decade, the Virginia War Memorial remained incomplete, because the Shrine of Memory did not have space to honor the brave Virginians who died while fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and on other battlefields across the globe. Again, the Commonwealth answered the call and broke ground on a massive expansion project in June of 2017. On February 29, 2020—64 years to the day of the VirginiaWar Memorial’s original dedication—Virginia dedicated the expanded Shrine of Memory, which includes the names of the 175 Virginian heroes that have died in the Global War on Terrorism. Virginia War Memorial Opens New Center By Clay Mountcastle See VirginiaWar Memorial Opens New Center , continued on page 18