Rhode Island · Providence River
209 Names. One River. One Rhode Island Standing Together.
About 21,000 Rhode Islanders served in the Vietnam War. 209 never came home. Leaders from every party have pledged their support, and a permanent memorial on the Providence River is moving forward. These men and women earned this and so much more.
209 Rhode Islanders on the wall
21,000
Rhode Islanders served
209
Never came home
58,000+
Americans lost in Vietnam
1
Memorial left to build
The Site
A Place on the River, Across From the City They Left
The proposed site is a quiet green along the Providence River in downtown Providence. It sits within walking distance of the Remembrance Garden of Greater Providence and the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge, with the skyline rising across the water.
For two hundred years this stretch of waterfront has been rebuilt again and again: trade markets, immigrant arrivals, highways, and the 1990s riverfront revival. Now it can hold something permanent.
Why This Spot
- On the Providence River, downtown
- Steps from other Rhode Island memorials
- Reached by street and the new footbridge
- Off-street parking for families and visitors
- A view across the water to the city
The Road to the Memorial
Where the Project Stands
The groundwork is moving. Every step below is one closer to the day Rhode Island dedicates its memorial.
- Commission formedWork began in July 2025
- Site identifiedOn the Providence River
- City & state reviewAgencies consulted
- Utility reviewUnderground lines mapped
- ApprovalsIn progress
- DesignComing next
- GroundbreakingDate to be announced
- DedicationWelcome home
The Memorial Report
Latest News & Stories
Coming Soon
History, Right Where You Stand
The memorial is being planned with augmented reality history pillars. Hold up your phone at the site and Rhode Island’s Vietnam story appears around you: the faces, the places, the letters home.
More details will be shared as the experience comes together.
AR HISTORY PILLARS
COMING SOON
Why This Matters
The Forgotten War Ends Here
Many Vietnam veterans came home to silence. Too many were never thanked. And too many of their grandchildren have never been taught what they did.
This memorial is a place to remember and a place to learn, so the next generation of Rhode Islanders knows the names, the sacrifice and the story.
Above Party Lines
Promises Made. Promises Kept.
Over the years, Rhode Island leaders from every party have stood up and pledged their support for this memorial. That matters. Honoring the 209 is not a partisan act. It is a Rhode Island one.
We will thank every leader who helps carry this across the finish line, and we will keep asking each of them to see the promise through. The men and women who served deserve nothing less.
Stand With Us ›Get Involved
Stand With Them
Every name on this wall needs people willing to carry it forward.
Welcome Home
They came home to a country that didn’t say thank you. Rhode Island can say it now, in stone, by the river, for good.