Steve Palmer points to the name of a high school classmate of his, Wesley Gene Baughman, who was killed in Vietnam. Palmer and other veterans, from left, Larry Cooper of Roseburg, and Kerry Searles of Enterprise look over the miniature memorial wall that was visiting in Enterprise on July 12, 2025.

ENTERPRISE — Although it represents just a portion of the full Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., the traveling miniature wall that was in Enterprise on Saturday, July 12, brings with it some sobering statistics.

A sign accompanying the wall lists those statistics:

The war lasted from 1959-75 and resulted in 58,479 Americans were killed in action.

• Most deaths in a single day: 245 persons on Jan. 31,1968.

• Most deaths in a month: 2,415 persons in May 1968.

• 2,709,918 Americans served in uniform in Vietnam.

• More than 303,000 were wounded.

• Two-thirds of the men serving were volunteers.

• 70% of those killed were volunteers.

• Vietnam veterans represent 9.7% of their generation.

• 37.2% of Oregon’s veterans are Vietnam era vets.

• 39,996 were 22 years or younger.

• 8,283 were just 19 years old.

• 12 soldiers were 17 years old.

• Five were 16 years old and one was only 15 years old.

• 997 were killed on their first day.

• 1,448 were killed on their last day.

• There were three sets of father/sons

• 31 sets of brothers.

• Eight nurses.

• 244 Medal of Honor recipients —153 of them on the Wall.

But the wall hasn’t forgotten veterans who have given all since Vietnam. Also recognized are those lost in other American conflicts.

• From the brief Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, one name is listed.

• Operation Desert Storm has six names listed as KIA.

• Operation Enduring Freedom, which began in 2001 in Afghanistan, has 2,461 listed as KIA.

• Operation Iraqi Freedom, which lasted from 2003-11, lists 4,419 as KIA.