The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument, is a memorial designed by New Mexico artist Duke Sundt, [1] installed on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, United States. [2] It serves as a tribute to all Texans who served in the Vietnam War and a memorial to the 3,417 who died.[ citation needed ] Ground was broken on March 25, 2013 on the northeast side of the Capitol. [3] The monument was dedicated on March 29, 2014.[ citation needed ]
Texas State Representative Wayne Smith and State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa met with fellow Vietnam Veterans in December 2005, each donating $1,000 to form a nonprofit organization that would finance a monument commemorating Texans who served in the Vietnam War. Other members of the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee included Robert Floyd, John Miterko, Terry B. Burkett, Alan Erwin, Phil Price, Kerry Orr, Don Dorsey, Kinnan Golemon, Richard McBride, and Michael Wright. [4] Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, served as Honorary Co-Chair. [5] The legislators co-authored House Concurrent Resolution 36 - 79th Texas Legislature. [6] [7] The monument is being paid for by donations from individuals, corporations and veteran organizations, along with a $500,000 matching grant from the Texas Historical Commission. [8]
Nearly 60,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, [9] and 3,417 of them were from Texas. [10] At a reading of the names of fallen veterans held in the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium at the LBJ Library, newspaper reporter and Vietnam war correspondent Joe Galloway explained the purpose of the Texas Vietnam Veterans Monument is to "encourage hometowns across America to go all out to welcome Vietnam veterans--the welcome they didn't get 50 years ago." [11]
The monument is a 14-foot-tall bronze sculpture featuring five seven-foot tall infantry figures in patrol positions situated atop an eight-sided base.[ citation needed ] Designed to represent the diversity of Texas Vietnam Veterans, the figures will be Hispanic-American, African-American, Asian, Native-American, and Caucasian. [12] Entombed within the monument will be 3,417 handcrafted dog tags, representing each of the Texas veterans who died in Vietnam. [13] The estimated cost of the monument is $1.5 million. [14]
The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit is a visual representation of the 3,417 Texans who did not survive to come home from Vietnam. It was designed by Excalibur Exhibits and consists of hand-embossed dog tags featuring the name, rank, branch of service, and date of loss and home of record for each veteran. [15] A second dog tag bearing duplicate information will be entombed in the Monument on the Texas Capitol grounds. [16] The exhibit opened to the public at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas on March 24, 2013. On the same day, a reading of the names of all 3,417 veterans was held in the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium at the LBJ Library, and ground was broken at the Texas State Capitol. [17] The exhibit will travel from Austin to San Antonio, Lubbock, Houston, Fort Worth and Beaumont while the monument is being constructed. [18]
Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson also served as a U.S. representative and U.S. senator.
The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the American state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, it was constructed from 1882 to 1888 under the direction of civil engineer Reuben Lindsay Walker. A $75 million underground extension was completed in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
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The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, also known as the LBJ Presidential Library, is the presidential library and museum of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States (1963–1969). It is located on the grounds of the University of Texas at Austin, and is one of 13 presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The LBJ Library houses 45 million pages of historical documents, including the papers of President Johnson and those of his close associates and others.
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in central Texas about 50 miles (80 km) west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country. The park protects the birthplace, home, ranch, and grave of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States. During Johnson's administration, the LBJ Ranch was known as the Texas White House because the President spent approximately 20% of his time in office there.
Pompeo Luigi Coppini was an Italian born sculptor who emigrated to the United States. Although his works can be found in Italy, Mexico and a number of U.S. states, the majority of his work can be found in Texas. He is particularly famous for the Alamo Plaza work, Spirit of Sacrifice, a.k.a. The Alamo Cenotaph, as well as numerous statues honoring Texan figures, such as Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the fourth President of Texas A&M University.
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Harry Joseph Middleton Jr. was an American journalist, author, and library director who served as Lyndon B. Johnson's Presidential speech writer and staff assistant from 1967 to 1969. Middleton was also director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum from 1971 until 2002, and led the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation from 1993 until 2004.
Armando Garcia Hinojosa is an artist and educator from Laredo, Texas, who is known for some half dozen major pieces of sculpture, including the massive Tejano Monument on the south lawn of the Texas State Capitol in Austin. The 12-piece monument was unveiled in the spring of 2012.
There are more than 160 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America and associated figures that have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five of which have been since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors.
The Disabled American Veterans of Texas Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating Texan veterans who were disabled while serving in the United States military services, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, in 1980. The monument's base is made from Texas Sunset Red Granite, and features inscriptions and the bronze seal of the Disabled American Veterans.
The Heroes of the Alamo Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating those who fought and died during the Battle of the Alamo, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds, in Austin, Texas, United States. It was designed by J.S. Clark, sculpted by Crohl Smith, and erected in 1891. The monument features a Texas Sunset Red Granite base topped by a bronze statue of a Texan carrying a muzzle-loading rifle. Among the names inscribed in the base's supports are James Bowie, David Crockett, and William B. Travis.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial is an outdoor monument by Edward L. Hankey commemorating the more than 289,000 Texans who served in the Korean War, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds, in Austin, Texas, United States. The memorial was erected in 1999 by the Texas Lone Star Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association. It features a star-shaped Texas Sunset Red Granite pedestal topped with a bronze sculpture of an eagle.
The Tejano Monument is a memorial commemorating the impact of Tejanos on Texas culture and history, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument was sculpted by Armando Hinojosa and erected by Tejano Monument, Inc. in 2012. It features nine life-size bronze statues on a 275-ton Texas Sunset Red Granite base, and five plaques describing Tejano history.
The Veterans of the 36th Infantry, Texas National Guard Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating soldiers of the 36th Infantry, Texas National Guard, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The monument, designed by an unknown artist, was erected in 1959. It is made of Texas Sunset Red Granite and features the unit's "T-Patch" shoulder insignia.
The World War I Monument is an outdoor memorial commemorating veterans of World War I, installed on the Texas State Capitol grounds in Austin, Texas, United States. The Texas Sunset Red Granite monument was erected by members of the Department of Texas, Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1961. The artist, whose name is engraved at the base of the monument, is Joe Machac. It lists the barracks and auxiliaries that worked to create the memorial.
Media related to Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument at Wikimedia Commons