Above And Beyond: A tribute to fallen Vietnam Veterans

The National Veterans Art Museum on North Milwaukee Ave. is home to many different works of art created by and for veterans. One of its biggest installations is called "Above and Beyond, "a 410 square foot memorial to those lost because of the Vietnam War." The piece was started in the late 1990s by four different veteran artists and it consists of over 58,000 dog tags created for the piece. Each tag is stamped with the name of the veteran, the date of their death and the branch of service they were in. Each tag is suspended on a three-foot wire and they are hung in the order of their deaths.

The original piece was in the Museum when it was located on south Indiana Ave. The Museum has since moved to its Milwaukee location, and the art piece was put in storage. The Museum received many inquiries about the piece from all over the country, they knew they had to bring it back, so it is now installed in the Harold Washington Library, and it will be officially opened on Saturday, February 20. It will be there for four years.

To find out more, visit the National Veterans Art Museum's website.