Vietnam Veterans Dog Tag Memorial In Chicago

Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast

At the Harold Washington Library in Chicago is a new art installation called “Above and Beyond” featuring over 58,000 replica dog tags — one for each American soldier killed in the Vietnam War. The dog tags, each hung one inch apart, are suspended from the ceiling from a 410-square-foot rectangle. Each dog tag lists the soldier’s name, military branch and date of death. Nearby is a touch panel display that allows visitors to look up a veteran’s name and find generally where the soldier’s dog tag is hanging. It is the only memorial other than The Wall in Washington, D.C., that lists every individual killed in Vietnam.

h/t: amusingplanet, artnet

Photo: courtesy the Chicago Public Library

“The search for a spot for “Above and Beyond” was complicated by the size and weight of the piece, not to mention it is viewed best in natural light so the sun can play off the tags,” wrote Annie Sweeney on Chicago Tribune. “Viewing it from all sides also enhances the experience.”

Photo: Tim Boyle, courtesy Getty Images

Above and Beyond was created by artists Ned Broderick, Rick Steinbock, Joe Fornelli, and Mike Helbing, back in 2001 and originally hung at the National Veterans Art Museum, in Chicago.

Photo: Brooke Anderson, via Flickr

Photo: courtesy the National Veterans Art Museum

Photo: courtesy War Memorial HQ

Photo: www.polkcounty.org

Photo: news.medill.northwestern.edu