Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Victor ?Doc? Westphall created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire, N.M., after his eldest son, David Westphall, was killed in Vietnam in 1968.
He dedicated his life to building and maintaining the memorial, which is now a state park.
In February of 2003, as the United States prepared for war with Iraq, I interviewed Doc Westphall by phone about his work and its larger meaning.
Just this month, I detoured off I-25 south heading for Santa Fe to visit the memorial (about four hours south of Denver). It?s a strange-feeling place ? ?70s architecture and a Huey helicopter perched high on a hill in northern New Mexico.
The New Mexico National Guard placed the Huey "Viking Surprise" at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park in 1999.
I wandered the grounds, Memorial Day-ready with hundreds of American flags, and learned that Doc Westphall died on July 22, 2003, just months after our interview. The clouds gathered in the west as tears collected in my eyes.
Here?s what Doc Westphall told me in 2003:
I was in Borneo during World War II when the cessation of hostilities with Japan was declared. I saw an American soldier and a Japanese POW bouncing along in an American jeep like they were buddies, and I thought, why was war necessary if only a half-day after the announcement they should be friends?
I saw the stark reality and futility of it all. I can see that image today as clear as if it were yesterday.
After the war, I went to college on the GI bill and got a Ph.D. in history, and started a construction business that built 2,000 houses in Albuquerque. For some unknown reason I decided to buy the Valverde ranch in 1966.
The death of our son in Vietnam triggered the memorial, but the fundamental reason was the futility of war. I knew from the beginning that it was destined to be unusual in some way. In World War II veterans came home to admiration and adulation, but Vietnam veterans came home to feelings of hatred and apathy.
It?s a very interesting place to be because it?s literally a cross section of the world right here. Frequently (visitors) are reluctant to even enter the memorial. A fellow who came from back East got to the front gate, turned around and went home. He came back, nearly turned back again, and finally said, ?This is nonsense,? and he came on in.
The memorial has occupied my life for three decades. It?s the central feature of my life. I?m 89, and I?m too busy to die. The memorial has 1,500 photos of deceased vets with a biography of each, and I write them all.
The grief of losing a child is just as strong as ever. It never goes away. It diminishes at times, but it?s always lurking in the background.
More blood has been shed in the name of religion than any other factor. If we?re ever going to eliminate war, we can?t say, ?You take care of it and send us the bill.? The important thing is to not wait until war is upon us, but to conduct the affairs of the world so they are taken care of in advance.
In the final analysis, it is man?s responsibility. He can?t shove it off onto God or anyone else.
You can make heaven right here on Earth.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
On Sunday, May 27, the park will host author, photojournalist and veteran Ted Engelmann at 1 p.m., ?Back from War? author Lee Alley at 3 p.m. candlelight, and a candelight vigil at 7 p.m. Memorial Day events start at 9 a.m. Monday, with a flag march down Highway 434.
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