Above and Beyond

Above and Beyond is comprised of 58,307 dog tags. Each dog tag represents the death of military personnel in the Vietnam War and is arranged in date order of death. And, each dog tag shows their name, date of death and military branch.

Above and Beyond was commissioned by the National Veterans Art Museum and created by veteran artists: Rick Steinbock, Ned Broderick, Joe Fornelli and Mike Helbing. It was originally installed at 1801 S. Indiana Ave. on May 26, 2001 to coincide with Chicago’s Memorial Day parade. Above and Beyond was created over a 2-year period as each dog tag was stamped by hand using a former military Graphotype machine.

Above and Beyond is the only memorial other than The Wall in Washington, D.C. to list all those killed in action during the Vietnam War. Additionally, it includes one black dog tag. This serves to remind us of the soldiers who died from conditions related to service during the Vietnam War.

Above and Beyond is part of the National Veteran’s Art Museum Collection, and is on extended exhibition at the Harold Washington Library Center through April 15, 2020.

Exhibition overview from museum website