By Beccy Tanner
The Wichita Eagle
Sunday,
April 29, 2012, at 9:32 p.m
The Vietnamese
American Community Memorial was installed on the banks of the Arkansas River on
Sunday afternoon. A public dedication is expected in July. (April 29, 2012)
Several
hundred people gathered Sunday afternoon on the banks of the Arkansas River for
a private dedication of the Vietnamese American Community Memorial.
The
memorial honors the sacrifices of Americans and South Vietnamese who fought the
communist North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War.
It
depicts two soldiers side by side, one American and one Vietnamese.
“We
invite everybody from the Vietnamese community, Catholics, Americans,” said
Chinh Pham, one of the organizers for Sunday’s event.
The
hourlong dedication Sunday was particularly significant because Monday is the
anniversary of when Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was captured by the
People’s Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975.
Saigon’s fall marked the end of the Vietnam War.
The
memorial was paid for by members of Wichita’s South Vietnamese community.
Babs
Mellor, the lead sculptor on the project, said she was pleased with the
turnout.
“They
like it so much,” Mellor said as people lined up to have their photos taken in
front of the sculpture.
“I
started out with just a piece of clay as mud. I had a wonderful design that Joe
Nguyen gave me. We used live models. The American soldier standing is 6-foot-4;
the Vietnamese soldier is seated on a granite rock.”
Sunday’s
ceremony was mostly in Vietnamese and featured traditional music. Veterans wore
their uniforms and some women wore traditional long Vietnamese dresses.
Veterans marched in and saluted the flags. Anthems – South Vietnamese and
American – were played. The South Vietnamese flag was lowered to half-staff.
The
memorial includes a plaque – one side written in English, the other in
Vietnamese – that notes the sacrifices of Americans and South Vietnamese who
fought together against the North Vietnamese.
The
project, three years in the making, has been controversial because some
American veterans objected to it being placed in Veterans Memorial Park. As a
result, the memorial is near, but not in, Veterans Memorial Park.
A
public dedication of the memorial has been scheduled for July.
Reach
Beccy Tanner at 316-268-6336 or btanner@wichitaeagle.com
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/04/29/2315930/wichitas-vietnamese-american-community.html#storylink=cpy
2012/4/29
10:19 pm
WICHITA, Kansas -- For years it had been a battle of where to
place the Vietnamese American War Memorial.
Sunday the memorial was dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lives
and to the Americans who welcomed the South Vietnamese to this country.
The sculpture in the memorial shows an American
soldier and a South Vietnamese soldier standing united.
“They're wanting to show compassion, and being
comrades in war together, and fighting side by side,” said Babs Mellor, a
sculptor.
Soldiers from both countries who fought in the
Vietnam War are represented in this new war memorial near Veteran's Memorial
Park.
"Fifty-eight thousand American soldiers have
died on our soil for the freedom of my country,” said Long Le, Editor and
Publisher of World Today Magazine.
The Vietnamese community gathers in Wichita
every year to remember the fall of Saigon.
“It reminds of the history, a very important
history,” said Kim Nguyen, whose family helped raise funds for the memorial.
On this 37th anniversary there's a physical
presence of honor to the lives lost during the Vietnam War.
“Every year we can come together, and we'll
celebrate everything from our history,” said Lan Le, a South Vietnamese veteran.
Getting to this point wasn't easy. There was a battle over where the memorial
would be located.
Organizers wanted it inside Veteran's Memorial
Park, but many were opposed because the park is designated for American service
men and women.
“That park is for American, United
States veterans that protected our country so
that you, and him, and me could be here today,” said Bob Pinkstaff in a June
2009 interview.
Out of that debate came compromise. Today, the memorial sits right along the Arkansas
River, just outside of the park.
After six years in the making, the memorial is
finally open to the public. Those behind it say it is mainly a thank you to the
American people.
It's an allegiance once celebrated abroad and now
at home.
*
*
Reporter:
Alicia Myers
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sunday
was a special day for the Vietnamese Community, as they gathered to dedicate
Wichita's Vietnam War Memorial.
Wichita's
Vietnam War Memorial has been years in the making. Intended to honor those who served
in the war, it is also a remembrance of those who were forced to flee their
homes in Vietnam, in search of freedom.
The
newest addition to the memorial is bronze statue that stands in the center of
the area, and depicts an American soldier with a Vietnamese soldier sitting
next to him.
"It's
a piece of history that was overlooked for awhile. The Vietnamese community, as
well as the Wichita community, came together to fundraise to build this
memorial," said Kim Nguyen, granddaughter of Suong Truong, who fled
Vietnam.
In
a private ceremony, the Vietnamese community dedicated the memorial, recalling
37 years ago when their lives and their country changed forever.
"A
lot of people, about 1.5 million, left Vietnam via mountain and sea to look for
freedom," said Truong.
Not
only does the memorial honor all the Vietnam veterans, but also the Vietnamese
community's American friends who they say stood beside them and welcomed them
with open arms when they had no where else to go.
"They're
so happy to be in America. They told me they left Vietnam for their freedom and
for their children," said Babs Mellor, lead sculptor of the statue.
Now,
they have a permanent reminder of that freedom they can share with the entire
Wichita community. A public dedication for the statue will be held July 4.
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