The Vietnam Veterans National Memorial was started in the Fall of 1968 by Victor Westphall, Ph.D. to honor his son, 1LT David Westphall, USMC, who died on May 22, 1968, in an ambush that also took the lives of 12 of his men. It’s located on US Rt 64, in Angel Fire, NM, and is operated jointly by the New Mexico State Parks Department and assisted by the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

It’s about 4 miles south of Angel Fire, on a hillside over looking some exquisite views of the Sangre de Christo mountains. It’s a beautiful, peaceful spot, kissed by the sun, whose rays are powerful above 8,000 feet, and a sweet breeze moving through the canyon pass.

Walking from the upper parking lot you pass through the garden, which is maintained by the Angel Fire Garden Club. I was told club members are there several times a week, planting, trimming, watering. It’s a lovely quiet spot, and the faint whisper of a small fountain lends a calming effect.

The Chapel is never locked. While it was being built, Dr Westphall locked up each evening, a creature of habit. One morning when he arrived he found a note asking “Why did you lock me out when I needed to come in?” The door has remained unlocked since that day.

There is also a Visitor’s Center dedicated in 1986,with a large assortment of memorabilia, photos and displays commemorating the War That Changed America.

The theater shows a continuous loop of the 1987 film “Dear America – Letters Home From Viet Nam.” Watching then film is eerie: quick cut strips of young men in green, clowning around in base camp, posing bravely with weapons or beer cans, intermixed with dirty frightened faces on patrol, or screaming in pain, waiting for a dustoff. Film cuts of reporters, men who risked their lives daily to go out in the bush with the troops so that they could do what reporters are supposed to do: report the truth to those back home.

There are 12 chairs in the theater, not especially comfortable. But then this is not an especially comfortable topic. Every other chair contains a full box of Kleenex.

Prints and paintings cover the walls of the theater. Since this is New Mexico, the artwork has a strong Native American influence. One remarkable piece, a carved cross, is one of the most interesting pieces I’ve ever seen.

One small part of the display in the Visitor’s Center drilled a hole right through my heart. These words were written by a soldier from Ft Lewis:

I was that which others did not want to be. I went where others feared to go, and did what others failed to do.

I asked nothing from those who gave nothing and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness….should I fail.

I have seen the face of terror; felt the stinging cold of fear and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment’s love.

I have cried, pained, and hoped…but most of all, I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.

At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was…a soldier.

There are a few photos at Lurch’s Page

UPDATE: There are quite a few webpages regarding this memorial.

http://www.angelfirememorial.com/

http://www.vietvet.org/angelfir.htm

http://www.vietvet.org/afmemori.htm