Veteran’s Day 2023 commemorates the 30th anniversary of Glenna Goodacre’s Vietnam Women’s Memorial Sculpture

Veteran’s Day weekend honors the 30th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. To commemorate this milestone, a weekend of events will honor the service and sacrifice of the 265,000 women veterans–both military and civilian– who served during the Vietnam era.

Sculptor Glenna Goodacre created the original clay sculpture for the Vietnam Women’s Memorial in her Santa Fe studio in 1993.

“My desire to create a lasting tribute to the American women serving in Vietnam is founded upon my deep respect for each of them and my heartfelt prayer for their hope and healing,” said Goodacre in a speech prior to the unveiling on the larger-than-life size bronze statue in 1993. “I have been humbled by the enormity of such a task yet incredibly honored by the overwhelming gratitude of the veterans. The emphasis of this tribute is centered on their emotions; their compassion, their anxiety, their fatigue, and above all, their dedication.”

Goodacre’s design was simple, classic, and ultimately perfectly reflective of the emotions she wished to portray—a single female figure comforting a wounded soldier in the style of Michelangelo’s Pieta is the central focus of the memorial while a standing woman looking towards the sky and another kneeling woman holding a helmet complete the trinity of support for the wounded soldier.

Sadly, in 2020, after a long illness, Goodacre passed away at her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she had lived and worked since 1983. The clay original for the Vietnam Women’s bronze statue was created in her studio there. She worked as an artist for her entire lifetime and was an accomplished sculptor for over fifty years. Goodacre’s public art achievements include monumental bronze portraits of President Ronald Reagan and legendary West Point football coach Colonel Earl “Red” Blaik; the massive Philadelphia Irish Memorial; and, in 2000, the obverse design of the United States Sacagawea Dollar that has been continuously minted each year.

“That my hands can shape the clay which might touch the hearts and heal the wounds of those who served fills me with humility and deep satisfaction,” said Goodacre. “I can only hope that future generations who view the sculpture will stand in tribute to these women who served during the Vietnam Era.”

With the 1993 dedication, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial became the first in the nation’s capital to recognize the service of military women—as well as the patriotic service of civilian women—to their country.

Hosted by Eastern National in coordination with the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Advisory Group, the National Park Service, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, programs will include a candlelight ceremony on Friday evening, November 10, 2023, at 6 pm and a storytelling program on Saturday morning, Veterans Day, November 11, 2023, from 10:00 am to noon. The weekend will culminate in a 1pm Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where the annual Observance at the Wall will be dedicated to the commemoration of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial 30th Anniversary.

The master of ceremonies for the Veterans Day Observance at the Wall will be Dr. Sharon R. Bannister Major General, United States Air Force (ret.), who serves on the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. She has also been a volunteer assisting visitors to the Wall since 2017. Dr. Bannister is a Gold Star daughter.

The Keynote Speaker will be Diane Carlson Evans, chair of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Advisory Group and founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. A former Army combat nurse and Vietnam veteran, Ms. Evans led a 10-year mission to complete the circle of healing and place a memorial on the National Mall to honor the women who served in the Vietnam era.