Former Steelers running back and Vietnam War veteran Rocky Bleier reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a copy of an e-mail that he recently received from a young soldier serving in Iraq.

"It's not often that a farm boy from Western Pennsylvania is able to correspond with one of his heroes," Mr. Bleier reads. "I would like to personally thank you for your service to our great nation during a time when the fight in Vietnam was extremely unpopular. Those of us who serve today are truly humbled by all those back home who continually send us their heartfelt support, something you did not get."

Mr. Bleier, who had been put in touch with the soldier by a commander who knew of the young man's love for all things Steelers, uses the note to make the point that just as there are people who need to be remembered, there also are lessons to be remembered.

Mr. Bleier, a motivational speaker living in Mt. Lebanon, yesterday joined Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, to publicize the plan for a memorial center to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to complement the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The 25,000-square-foot center, approved by Congress in 2003, will be built underground to preserve the mall's landscape. Located across the street from the memorial, it is estimated it will cost $75 million to $100 million.

Mr. Scruggs, whose efforts made the memorial a reality in 1984, once again is touring the country, meeting with corporate executives, high-profile veterans and community leaders, mapping out his vision.

"The [Vietnam] memorial is the most-visited monument in Washington," he said. "And half the people visiting today were born after the Vietnam conflict ended."

For decades, people have left medals, photos, flowers, letters, boots and helmets at the base of the dark granite wall bearing the names of soldiers killed in the conflict. Many of those keepsakes will become part of the new visitors center, which also will display photographs, maps and details from the war.

"We're not a veterans group; we're an education group," Mr. Scruggs said. "We're using the exhibits to teach about loyalty, respect, integrity, courage."

Mr. Scruggs said that, like the memorial, the center will offer an intense emotional experience. But he also believes it will provide "a profound educational experience and an upbeat, positive message."

"It's for young people," he said. "People who need to understand that freedom is not free, and that it is purchased at the price of good people sacrificing their lives."

Supporters hope to break ground for the center in the next two years, and it will take 18 months to build. The concept is being produced by the same architect and exhibit design team that was responsible for the Newseum, the Washington museum of journalism and First Amendment displays.

Upon entering, Mr. Scruggs said, visitors will see a two-story video wall displaying photographs changing every minute. Plans call for servicemen and women to be specifically honored on their birthdays.

"It will give us the opportunity to change wars," Mr. Scruggs said. "We can have Afghanistan Day, we can have Gettysburg Day, we can have June 6. Every conflict, including the current ones. And the center will be designed in such a way that whenever people visit any of the other war memorials, they'll think back to what they learned at the center."

Mr. Scruggs said it was important to make sure the center did not interfere with the memorial.

"This is being done the right way for the right reasons," he said. "And it's coming at a perfect time for Americans. We want to stay connected to [those who died]. And this is how we remember them."

Mr. Bleier said he is lending his name, voice and support to the project because he knows what Mr. Scruggs, a fellow veteran, aims to accomplish.

"What made the Vietnam memorial so powerful was the names. And that personal connection," Mr. Bleier said. "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was Jan's dream and Jan's doggedness. He made it a reality, and it was so difficult, I don't know how he did it.

"And now, for this center, he's fighting these battles all over again."