Countless monuments have been created to memorialize war efforts and honor the men and women who have fought and died in various wars throughout history. That endeavor is evident in Veterans Memorial Park, which features statues, testaments and sculptures that honor soldiers from numerous encounters in downtown Wichita, Kansas. However, some members of the Wichita community felt this memorialization was incomplete which led to the creation of an extension of this memorial with the Vietnamese American Community Memorial. The creation of this landmark was not without controversy though.
The Vietnamese American Community Memorial honors the Americans and South Vietnamese who fought together against the communist North Vietnamese in the Vietnam War. The prominent in the center of the monument statue depicts the side-by-side partnership of American and Vietnamese soldiers. The memorial includes a plaque that notes the sacrifices of Americans and South Vietnamese who fought together against the North Vietnamese. One side is written in English, the other in Vietnamese.
Located on the banks of the Arkansas River and paid for by Wichita’s South Vietnamese community, the monument features benches that honor individual donors as well as the Wichita Vietnamese American Memorial Dragon Urn. These pieces further showcase the sacrifices that were made so that the South Vietnamese could live in freedom. The monument is an attempt to express the profound gratitude to those who fought by the side of the South Vietnamese to provide them with new opportunities.
Some American veterans objected to the Vietnamese American Community Memorial being placed in Veterans Memorial Park. On account of this feedback, the memorial was instead installed outside the park and is walled off by a six-foot earthen berm. However, doing so has allowed the memorial to be incorporated into the larger monument in a profound manner.
By extending the significance of Veterans Memorial Park, the memorial has been able to showcase how expanding the significance of established monuments can mean that much more to entire communities.
