Vietnam War Memorial:
They called it "the domino theory." In the years after World War II, Western leaders, fearful of the well-minded wishful thinking that permitted Hitler to gradually embroil the world in arms, became alarmed by Communism's rippling sphere of influence in the Far East. Believing that small countries would topple one after another if left undefended, they resolved to stop the spread of Communism wherever possible. In Korea, the UN successfully completed that mission, but in Vietnam, it failed, at a cost of more than 58,000 American lives. However, no other major country submitted to Communism after US led efforts in Vietnam as the risk of US intervention was a major deterrent. More than 1,300 of the men and women lost during the Vietnam War were citizens of Massachusetts.
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Battleship Cove is home to the Commonwealth's official memorial to Bay Staters of all branches of service who were killed in service to their country during the Vietnam War. Located on board the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., this memorial is a solemn reminder of their eternal, selfless sacrifice.
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To see a list of those from Massachusetts lost during the Vietnam War, please click on this file.
Source: Vietnam War Extract Data File, as of April 29, 2008, of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, part of Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense