Project To Build Vietnam War Museum On National Mall Shuttered Amid Allegations Of Malfeasance

[douglas9]

A proposed $130 million project to build an “interactive learning center” adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall has been terminated, the Virginia-based nonprofit organization behind the project announced on Sept. 21 in a press release.

The decision to shutter the Education Center of the Wall marks the culmination of a tumultuous 18-year saga chronicled in a recent Task & Purpose report based on interviews with multiple inside sources who alleged that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) continued soliciting donations for the project long after it became obvious that it would never come to fruition.

“I have advocated ending this campaign since 2015,” said Jan Scruggs, the estranged founder of VVMF, who first conceived of the Education Center in 2000 and retired as president and CEO of the organization four years ago. “Task & Purpose played a crucial role.”

Scruggs and others who had been involved in the Education Center campaign over the years say VVMF still has a lot of explaining to do and foresee legal battles over the tens of millions of dollars the organization has received from multinational corporations, foreign governments, veterans service organizations, philanthropist groups, and countless Vietnam veterans and Gold Star families, many of whom also contributed photographs and other mementos that were to be featured in exhibits planned for the center.


https://taskandpurpose.com/project-to-build-vietnam-war-museum-on-national-mall-shuttered-amid-allegations-of-malfeasance/