Vietnam War Memorial

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 By Aaron White

As a CIA helicopter was loaded with evacuees and lifted off from a rooftop in Saigon in the spring of 1975, an era came to an end. This moment signaled the end of nineteen years of the American war in Vietnam. It marked the end of the jungle combat and long deployments away from home for some. For others, it was the end of years of protests for peace. But it also marked the beginning of a new chapter in America, a chapter defined by veterans coming home--some, only to be met with scorn and distain by their fellow countrymen. But slowly over months and years emotions softened, and there was a need to honor the veterans of Vietnam for their service, heroism, and valor.

        

Connecticut began celebrating its Veterans a decade after the end of the war. Starting in Wallingford, plans had started being drawn up for a parade in 1973. The parade was eventually held down Center Street in 1985. This marked when Vietnam veterans began to get the respect and honor they had been denied upon their return home. One veteran remarked at the time “It feels good - it's the first time a lot of these guys have ever come out.”

        

Vietnam commemoration in Connecticut roughly coincided with a period of economic, social, and political struggles in New Haven. Long Wharf, especially, was in a sorry state of affairs with the I-95/I-91 interchange razing several blocks and cutting the city off from its historical connections to the water that had long bolstered New Haven's economic and cultural connections to the world. With the once legendary wharf filled in and nearly forgotten, the city was looking for something to beautify the area and give the area a new icon. Planners were looking for something as visually striking as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, albeit on a much smaller scale. The city was in luck because what they were looking for was right around the corner.


These evolving feelings about the Vietnam War and those who served in it continued to spread and soon manifested in New Haven in the winter of 1988. But this story begins much earlier in the spring of 1984 with a pair of veterans, Conley Monk and Howard Chernikoff who were inspired by other Vietnam celebrations and memorials both nation and state wide. Quickly enlisting more veterans to their cause, Chernikoff and Monk formed a memorial committee.


The following four years were a mix of searching for funding and through city records to find the names of all New Haven residents that gave their lives in the conflict. They knew their petitioning to the city had been successful when they were granted four loans of twelve thousand dollars apiece. This was also when city officials renamed the stretch of land the memorial was to be built on to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park to better reflect the memorial. Identifying the names of all New Haven's Vietnam war dead posed the greatest challenge and took longer than expected. In time, though, they found 53 names of men lost and two missing in action.


On a rainy November morning in 1988, the statue was unveiled to a crowd of four hundred veterans and their families. A grand eleven foot tall granite V stood proudly as the center piece of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. Everyone left the ceremony that day with a sense of pride and honor knowing that their loved ones had finally been honored.


Unlike some other memorials that melt into the landscape and are eventually forgotten, this memorial is well-maintained by a community of veterans and the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation. There are annual Memorial Day ceremonies held here to remember and honor the fallen. Both veterans and the families of the fallen gather much like when the statue was unveiled.


One distinctive attribute of this memorial are the questions it leaves open to the visitor. What does the V stand for ? There are many possible answers Vietnam, Veterans, Valor, Victory all these answers have merit and the question remains to the visitor to answer.



Figure 1: War Memorial in Long Wharf – Vietnam Veterans Park after a Veterans Day ceremony , 2020 courtesy of the author


Figure 2: Vietnam War Memorial in Long Wharf – Vietnam Veterans Park after a Veterans Day ceremony , 2020 courtesy of the author


Bibliography

New Daily Journal. “Volume 21- Issue 3.” December 1, 1988.

 

New Haven Independent. “A Memorial Day Call For “Real Heroes”.” Accessed October 19, 2020.

 

New Haven Register. “CT ceremony honors Vietnam War Veterans.” Accessed October 14, 2020

 

New Haven Register. “Randall Beach: New Haven’s Vast public art is often unseen.” Accessed October         15, 2020.

 

New York Times. “A Town Hails Its Vietnam Veterans.” Accessed October 14, 2020

 

New York Times. “City Seeks ‘Signature’ Sculpture.” Accessed October 19, 2020.

    https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/13/nyregion/city-seeks-signature-sculpture.html

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