The Washington State Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Capitol Campus has a special meaning for Hal Lymus of Olympia.
“A lot of these guys died in my arms,” said the former combat medic, who served two tours in Vietnam.
In the 1980s, Lymus was part of a veterans group that helped raise about $178,000 in private donations to build the green granite monument that features the names of 1,116 Washington residents who were killed or went missing in action during the Vietnam War.
He opposes a proposed $50,000 addition to the memorial that includes a plaque depicting a Vietnamese “mourning soldier” with inscriptions in English and Vietnamese that read, “We remember with gratitude the soldiers of the Republic of Vietnam and the United States who fought and died for freedom and democracy in Vietnam.”
Lymus, 72, said he and others plan to voice their objections to the addition during a public meeting about the monument Saturday.
“We have nothing against the Vietnamese community whatsoever,” Lymus said. “It’s just that this wall is meant for one thing: the Washington citizens who died or are missing in action and for the guys who died as a result of their injuries.”
Supporters for the proposed addition, which also includes poles to fly the U.S., state and Prisoner of War flags, have received nearly $25,000 in donations from numerous groups including the Vietnamese Air Force Veterans Association, the Squaxin Island Tribe and Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion posts from around the state.
Lan Phan Jones, 55, of Tumwater co-chairs a citizens group that is working with the state Department of Veterans Affairs to make the memorial addition a reality.
Her father was a Republic of Vietnam soldier who died in 1991. She has attended Memorial Day ceremonies at the wall for several years, and more recently has organized services to honor fallen South Vietnamese soldiers.
“The addition gives us a place to show our respect and remember our love ones who died in the war,” Allen said. “After the war, our war dead have no place of honor in Vietnam. Their cemeteries were destroyed or moved by the communists.”
Dale Parsons, 76, of University Place, was trying to coordinate an effort to get three poles installed at the site when Jones approached Veterans Affairs with her idea for a permanent memorial for South Vietnamese soldiers.
Officials at the state agency thought it made sense to try to combine the efforts, according to director John Lee. Parsons and Allen agreed.
“I think it honors all those who fought and served in Vietnam,” said Parsons, who served a year as a platoon sergeant in Vietnam. “It’s about both countries; we fought side by side.”
About 15 months ago, about 75 Vietnam veterans and 50 South Vietnamese veterans got together to talk about ideas for the proposed addition.
“It was pretty remarkable what happened there,” said Lee, who served a year as an infantryman in Vietnam. “There was a lot of testimony. A lot of tears were shed. … Everybody we talked to said, ‘Wow, great idea.’”
He said he was surprised when he learned a few months ago that a group of veterans was trying to halt the project.
Saturday’s meeting is aimed at bringing all the parties together to discuss the issue, Lee said. He said he hasn’t heard of widespread objection; in fact, most of the input he has received has shown support for the project. He hopes the groups can come up with a compromise.
“At the end of this discussion, if this doesn’t make sense to the corporate body there, we won’t do this,” Lee said. “I’m not committed to doing something that’s going to cause division and rancor.”
Chuck Manley, 63, of Tumwater, is digging in for a fight.
He said he has talked to many veterans about the proposed addition.
“Their answer was not no, but hell no,” Manley said.
Like Lymus, Manley helped sell fireworks and Christmas trees and travel around the state to collect donations for the monument.
He’s accusing Veterans Affairs of not informing the public about the project, and of getting involved in fundraising efforts for a citizen-led project.
“This thing is going to turn into a battle,” Manley said. “We’ve got numerous senators and representatives who are with us on this, who are concerned about it. All this project is going to do is cause bad and hostile feelings between veterans, citizens and the Vietnamese community.”
Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433
lpemberton@theolympian.com
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