Jan Scruggs Decorated Vietnam veteran Jan Scruggs is the founder of the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/63">Vie</a><span><a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/63">tnam Veterans Memorial</a> in Washington, DC. He conceived the memorial as a tribute to all who served during one of the longest wars in American history</span>. He started the project with $2,800 of his own money and collected nearly $8 million in private donations to fund the construction of the memorial. Scruggs currently serves as the President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jan+Scruggs">Jan Scruggs</a> Dane A. Penland (Smithsonian Institution) via Wikimedia Commons. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Scruggs#mediaviewer/File:Jan_C._Scruggs_at_the_Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial.jpg">View original</a>. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1980-1999">1980-1999</a> <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1950-1979">1950-1979</a>