Group working to raise money for Vietnam vets memorial
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Photo courtesy of BuildTheMonument.org.
Veterans of the Vietnam War will soon have a 14-foot-tall monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol to honor their sacrifice.
Veterans and lawmakers unveiled the monument model Wednesday, but they will have to raise $1 million in private funds to commission the real monument.
The five figures in the model represent the ethnic and racial diversity of the more than 500,000 Texans that served in the war.
Don Dorsey served as a sniper in Vietnam and is part of the Veteran Outreach Committee. He hopes the monument will offer some vets closure.
"For 40 years now, like so many other combat veterans, I've struggled with coming home to a country I didn't recognize," Dorsey said. "That's why I want to see this monument built. It represents the respect we never received."
Once the money is raised to pay for it, the monument will be placed on the northeast corner of the Capitol building, near the Peace Officers Memorial.
More than 500,000 Texans served in the Vietnam War. More than 3,400 were killed.
For more information about the memorial visit BuildTheMonument.org.
"There are five figures representing our " Dawn Patrol" and are forming a defensive circle. All the figures are on guard watching intently for the enemy.
The seated figure is a wounded ARVN Ranger representing the wounds and punishment that the people of South Vietnam suffered during America's longest war.
The Ranger is receiving blood, our blood, from a black medic. The aid being given to the wounded ARVN Ranger symbolizes the aid given and US blood shed to help the South Vietnamese forces and people.
The radioman is a Native American. The radioman is concentrating on the sky looking for help from our helicopters, our lifeline in Vietnam.
The kneeling figure with the scoped rifle is a sniper, a Hispanic, watching for the enemy and protecting his fellow soldiers/Marines. The standing figure is a Caucasian grunt, a ground pounder with the 1,000 yard stare."
- BuildTheMonument.org