Teamster Leader, History Channel Collect Vietnam Photos

Local 786 President Joins Nationwide Campaign for Pictorial History

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The History Channel and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund are asking for photographs to help memorialize the 58,272 men and women who died in the Vietnam War, and the Teamsters have answered the call.

Teamsters Local 786 President Michael L. Yauger, a Vietnam veteran, joined military leaders and historians for a public address on the national campaign in November. The Vietnam Veterans Call for Photos, coinciding with the History Channel’s “Vietnam in HD” documentary, hopes to match a photograph to every name inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial—The Moving Wall—in Washington, D.C.

“Now more than ever the importance of putting photos of our fallen soldiers in the memorial center is key to future generations of Americans,” said Yauger, who also serves as Trustee of Teamsters Joint Council 25, “and their understanding of the true cost of war and the real value of sacrifice.”

More than 35,000 images of soldiers are still needed to complete the Call for Photos campaign. Once complete, all images will be displayed in the forthcoming Education Center at the Moving Wall and as part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund online at www.VVMF.org.

Any Illinois or Indiana resident who can submit a photo of a loved one who died in the Vietnam War should visit www.VVMF.org/photos to learn more and share the image.

As the Teamsters’ National Helmets to Hardhats Coordinator, Yauger has been instrumental in working with military veterans in the Helmets to Hardhats, Heroes to Healthcare and Wounded Warriors programs, as well as the Illinois Teamsters Employers Apprenticeship Training Fund. Through Helmets to Hardhats, the Teamsters Union has trained more than 40,000 returning servicemen and women for jobs in the construction trades in less than 10 years.

Yauger served in Vietnam as a Hawk Hunter Killer Team Leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, conducting counter-insurgency and counter-guerilla operations in the central highlands of Vietnam. In addition to his various roles in the Teamsters since 1991, Yauger is a recipient of the Purple Heart and an honorary committeeman of Board Kup’s Purple Heart Foundation.

“Please join the Teamsters and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to complete this important photo project,” Yauger said. “Future generations of Americans must have a better understanding of the veterans memorial and the impact of our soldiers on America’s history.”

Teamsters Local 786 is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25, which represents more than 100,000 hardworking men and women throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana.

Lt. Col. Joe Edstrom of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
addresses supporters in Chicago alongside Michael L. Yauger (right).

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