The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Holmdel Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

is a monument honoring New Jersey natives who served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, especially the 1,562 men and one woman who lost their lives or went missing in action. Dedicated in 1995, the Memorial is located on the grounds of the

PNC Bank Arts Center The PNC Bank Arts Center (originally the Garden State Arts Center) is an amphitheatre in Holmdel, New Jersey. About 17,500 people can occupy the venue; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May t ...

. It is adjacent to the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center.

History

On January 21, 1986, New Jersey Governor

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

signed legislation appropriating $25,000 to administer a statewide competition for the design of a Vietnam veterans' memorial. The legislation also created the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Committee, which was tasked with selecting the location for the memorial, raising funds for its construction, and holding a competition for the design of the memorial. The Holmdel site was selected in 1986 and dedicated in 1987. From 1987 to 1988, a design contest was held; more than 400 entries were submitted. The winning design, submitted by Hien Nguyen, was chosen in 1988. Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American architect who fled Vietnam in 1975. Gov. Kean held groundbreaking ceremonies at the site on May 7, 1989. In May 1991, three statues to be included in the memorial were unveiled in Trenton; they were sculpted by Thomas Jay Warren. Construction on the memorial began on November 19, 1991. The memorial was dedicated on May 7, 1995. The May 7, 1995 date was chosen because it was the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

Description

The memorial is an open-air circular pavilion, in diameter. Around the entire outside are 366 black granite panels, each one representing a day of the year. The casualties are listed according to what day they were killed. In the middle of the circular pavilion is a

red oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

, the state tree of New Jersey. This tree provides shade for three statues, one of a dying soldier, one of a nurse tending to his wounds, and one soldier standing at their sides. They represent those who died, the women in the war, and those who came back safely, respectively. They also represent multiple nationalities as the fallen soldier is white, the standing soldier is African American, and the nurse is Latino. The stone panels are arranged so they are about higher than the inner courtyard. The ten stairways and two ramps leading up to them intersect, as the designer did not want the pathways for the handicapped separate. These ramps are arranged in a

double helix A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, each one ascending to the top in half of the circle. The two entrances to the memorial are tunnels, symbolizing the trip the soldiers took to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The memorial is oriented so that the May Seventh panel, the day the war ended, points towards Vietnam.

Museum and Educational Center

The Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center is adjacent to the memorial. According to one of the officials here, the state asked the designer of the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

what she would do over again given the chance to redesign the memorial. She said that, without an educational center explaining the war and turmoil in the country at that time, a memorial could be meaningless to passerby. This is the rationale for the existence of the facility. In 2010, the name of the center was changed from "Vietnam Era Educational Center" was changed to "Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center". The Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center was dedicated in September 1998. The facility had a construction budget of $3.5 million; it was intended to provide a balanced view of the controversial war. When opened it was the only museum of its kind in the United States."Nation's First Vietnam-Era Museum Opens in New Jersey"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

in ''

The Durant Daily Democrat ''The Durant Democrat'' is a weekly newspaper located in the city of Durant, Oklahoma. The ''Durant Daily Democrat'' serves all of Bryan County and parts of other South Central Oklahoma counties. The Circulation is 7,000 Daily History For ove ...

'', September 28, 1998.

References

{{Reflist

External links

New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation
Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Holmdel Township, New Jersey Military monuments and memorials in the United States Vietnam War monuments and memorials in the United States Monuments and memorials in New Jersey Museums in Monmouth County, New Jersey Military and war museums in New Jersey Vietnam War museums 1988 sculptures 1995 establishments in New Jersey