The Three Servicemen

Located overlooking the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is this sculpture showing three soldiers in Vietnam returning from patrol. The sculpture is situated so that it appears the men have just come out of the jungle and have stumbled upon the Wall for the first time.

The sculptor, Frederick Hart, purposely left off any indication of rank or branch of service on these men, so as to make them more representative of all the people who served in Vietnam.

The genesis of this sculpture lies in the feeling among some veterans that the Wall itself was not a fitting tribute to those who served in Vietnam. They saw it as too cold or too abstract and wanted something more direct and tangible.