June 12, 2017 By Jason Cohen
Elected leaders and Parks Depart. officials released the design plans for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Elmhurst Park on Friday.
The memorial, which will honor the 420 Queens residents who died in Vietnam, will feature two semi-circular granite walls, one which will have the names of the fallen and key dates of the conflict, while the other will have five crests of the military, as well as the Vietnam Service Medal etched on the outside.
“The Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial brings to fruition a dream of former Chapter 32 President Pat Toro’s, which was conceived in 2008,” said Michael O’Kane, current Chapter 32 president. “It was Pat’s dream that families of fallen Vietnam Veterans would have a centralized place to gather and reflect on their loved ones sacrifice.”
Nearly $3 million has been allocated to the project, with $2.3 million in funding coming from the Borough President’s office. The remaining amount has come from the City Council.
Construction is expected to begin in fall 2018, with an expected completion of fall 2019.
“The vision for a physical, borough-wide memorial was first forged by our own veterans who wanted to memorialize the sacrifices made by hundreds of Queens residents and their families during what was a tumultuous period in our nation’s history,” Katz said.
“The designs unveiled today is another step forward toward the fulfillment of a promise made years ago,” Katz said.
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2 Comments
Is there a listing of names to be included on the wall? I know at least one that should be there.
Little late, but better late than never. Honor our hero’s