The vision to design and to construct a statewide memorial to the Commonwealth's veterans of the Vietnam conflict began in Boston in the 1980s with the formation of the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. This group said their sole purpose was, "to establish a permanent tribute to those Massachusetts citizens who answered the call of their country, and made the supreme sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy during the Vietnam conflict (1955 -1975)." They went on to proclaim that "this long overdue tribute will be dedicated in time for Harborpark Day (September, 1988)." The proposal recommended that the Memorial be built in the Charlestown Navy Yard.As this first Massachusetts attempt failed, other states continued to pay tribute to those that served and died in Southeast Asia. A group in Worcester picked up the torch and formed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Trust and initiated a statewide design competition in 1989. The team of Harby, Rogers and Catanzaro of Belmont, Massachusetts ultimately won this competition. Their design is comprised of three PLACES. These PLACES are a PLACE OF FLAGS, a PLACE OF WORDS, and a PLACE OF NAMES. For more information about all aspects of this Memorial, please see the sections dedicated to the Place of Words, Place of Flags and Place of Names.