WASHINGTON — The human remains arrive in urns, boxes and even Tupperware, and are placed reverently at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to honor a name etched there.
And it’s against a longstanding National Park Service policy. That’s becoming more of an issue, and the service is trying to discourage it.
“We do ask people not to do that,” said Mike Litterst, spokesman for the National Mall and Memorial Parks. “We’ve seen an increase in the number of remains left in recent months.”
A number of factors might explain the recent uptick in human remains being left at the wall: More aging Vietnam veterans might be dying; 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of pivotal events in the war, such as the Tet Offensive; and the film on the war, co-directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick and released last fall, might have sparked interest in honoring the fallen.
The Park Service has a collection of more than 400,000 mementos left at the wall. It’s storing them for future display — except for those human remains, which the service is not equipped to handle or store.
“It’s a very delicate question. People have entrusted us with the remains of their loved ones,” Litterst said. “We do need to figure out what to do, what the ultimate disposal will be to treat them with respect.”
What is clear is that the remains will not become part of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial collection when a facility for its display is built. They won’t remain with the collection that’s now in storage or at the wall.
“We are still trying to determine the final disposition of the remains that are left,” Litterst said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Lynn Novick and Ken Burns are co-directors of the war film.
