OC Register
9/24/2002

A victory most can celebrate

By GORDON DILLOW, Columnist
The Orange County Register

Like the war it commemorates, the Westminster Vietnam War Memorial took longer and cost more and left more
bitterness in its wake than anyone ever expected when it began. But finally, six years after it was first proposed, and after seemingly interminable wrangling over costs and design, the light at the end of the long memorial tunnel is in sight.

And if the communists in Hanoi don't like it, tough.

Early Monday morning, a crane lifted a 3-ton bronze statue of an American soldier standing side by side with a South Vietnamese soldier and gently lowered it into position. The statue by sculptor Tuan Nguyen is the centerpiece of the $1 million, privately funded memorial, situated in a park next to Westminster Civic Center.

True, some work remains to be done before the memorial will be complete. But with the bronze statue in place,
the memorial is finally beginning to look like what it is: The only monument anywhere that pays tribute to both the U.S. and the South Vietnamese soldiers who fought in the war – including the 58,000 American and 300,000 South Vietnamese soldiers who died in it.

"It's beautiful," said Tam Ho, 75, one of a cluster of aging former South Vietnamese soldiers who were there to watch the statue go up. A former officer, Ho spent 13 years in a communist prison after South Vietnam fell in 1975.

"Some things are better to forget," Ho said. But as he looked at the statue, he added, "But some things must be remembered. This is a happy day."

But it's not a happy day for everybody - specifically the communist government of Vietnam. As if methodically destroying South Vietnam military cemeteries and forcing thousands of disabled former South Vietnamese soldiers into beggary wasn't already enough of an affront to South Vietnamese military veterans, the communist government of Vietnam has consistently tried to put the kibosh on the Westminster memorial project.

For example, several years ago, when the statue design was unveiled, the San Francisco-based consul general of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam lodged an official protest with the city. He even suggested that if the memorial had to be built, the Vietnamese soldier in it should be a North Vietnamese - pith helmet, AK-47 and all.

And according to Westminster Councilman Frank Fry, a World War II veteran who first proposed the Vietnam War memorial, a few days before the groundbreaking last spring, city officials received a letter from the U.S. State Department asking them to desist from building the memorial, lest it annoy Hanoi.

But as Frank told me, "They can't tell us what to do." The memorial project went ahead.

Of course, this is just a memorial, an assemblage of bronze and steel and concrete, and no memorial can ever make up for the misery of the Vietnam War. Still, after all the years, and all the struggle, it's nice to see it nearing completion.

And it's nice to think that this time, in this small way, the South finally won.

LA Times
9/24/2002
ORANGE COUNTY

Vietnam War Memorial Gives Alliance Its Due
* History: After disputes and delays, the statue of American and South Vietnamese soldiers will finally be installed in Westminster.
By Vivian Letran, Times staff writer

A symbol of healing that itself became controversial is to be installed Monday in Westminster: a war
memorial depicting two somber soldiers--one Vietnamese and one American--standing side by side.

The 15-foot bronze is the centerpiece of a $1-million memorial considered the first to honor both U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers. About 58,000 Americans and 300,000 South Vietnamese, the two sides allied against the communist North Vietnamese, died in the war.

"This is our answer to 'the Wall' on the East Coast," said Westminster City Councilman Frank Fry Jr., referring to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the nation's capital. Fry is a World War II veteran who
proposed the Westminster memorial six years ago.

"This war memorial has been a long time coming," he said. "It is symbolic on many levels, but mainly [as a way] to unite the Vietnamese and American communities."

The 3-ton statue will be placed in the new, 1.4-acre Freedom Park, surrounded by a black-marble fountain and flags of the United States and the former South Vietnam.

Sculptor Tuan Nguyen also added a traditional memorial urn in which incense will be burned. A computerized kiosk will allow visitors to look up the names of U.S.
and South Vietnamese casualties. "I wanted this memorial to be an emotional experience," said Nguyen, 39, who took two years to finish the bronze. "It's a way to pay our respects and repay the soldiers who fought for our freedom."

The city commissioned the statue, provided the land and will maintain the park, which officials expect to be a natural draw for visitors to Little Saigon, the world's largest expatriate Vietnamese community. The statue, however, was financed with donations from the Vietnamese community.

The cost, among other issues, contributed to four years of bickering over the memorial. Many in the
Vietnamese community objected as the price escalated, forcing donors to contribute more money.

The criticism continued over early designs that included only a U.S. flag or depicted the soldiers
shaking hands on a battlefield. City officials and residents also argued over the location for the memorial after some complained that it would be too visible in the Civic Center park.

A public reception to preview the memorial will be held tonight at Miranda International art gallery in
Laguna Beach. Vietnam War veteran Russell Kolins was among those watching Friday as the sculpture was moved to the gallery.

"It makes me feel good to see this because it's more symbolic of the way people feel about the Vietnam War now," he said. "The public seems to understand now."

Many are happy the project is done. "I think the idea is noble. A lot of the fighters in Vietnam returned and were forgotten," said Nguyen Phuong Hung, a South Vietnamese Army Ranger who lost two brothers in the war. "And they received no honors, no recognition. We returned not as heroes but [as
losers] of the war," he said. "I was afraid the project might never be completed."