Official Commonweath of Massachusetts Vietnam War Memorial:

They called it "the domino theory." In the years after World War II, Western leaders, fearful of the well-minded wishful thinking that permitted Hitler to gradually embroil the world in arms, became alarmed by Communism's rippling sphere of influence in the Far East. Believing that small countries would topple one after another if left undefended, they resolved to stop the spread of Communism wherever possible. In Korea, the UN successfully completed that mission, but in Vietnam, it failed, at a cost of more than 58,000 American lives. However, no other major country submitted to Communism after US led efforts in Vietnam as the risk of US intervention was a major deterrent.  More than 1,300 of the men and women lost during the Vietnam War were citizens of Massachusetts.   

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USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. is home to the Commonwealth of Massachusett's official memorial to Bay Staters of all branches of service who were killed in service to their country during the Vietnam War.  This memorial is a solemn reminder of their eternal, selfless sacrifice.

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