"In 1995, Mike Najarian became dissatisfied with the lack of maintenance at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
That's when he hit upon an idea: He called the National Park Service to ask whether he and his friends could help organize a group that would clean the wall each week.
'There was no schedule, it was just hodgepodge, there was nothing put together,' said Najarian, a Vietnam War veteran from Silver Spring, Md., who's now 75. 'The park ranger was glad to hear from us.'
Najarian and other members of Chapter 641 of the Vietnam Veterans of America in Silver Spring have been making regular treks to the National Mall ever since. They use hoses, soap and brushes to wipe away the dirt and fingerprints that collect quickly on the black granite wall, on the etched names of 58,195 service members who died in the war."
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