City - San Antonio State - TEXAS Country - United States
About
San Antonio's Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated Nov. 9, 1986, in a ceremony attended by about 6,000 persons, including the former commander of ground forces in Vietnam, retired Army Gen. William C. Westmoreland. The war's top soldier said it was one of the most impressive and largest crowds he had seen. Westmoreland gave the keynote address at the event, stating that the memorial's unveiling represented a coming home for veterans. "Before, they were physically at home but didn't feel accepted ? now it's a reality," he said. The memorial depicts a radio operator comforting a wounded comrade while anxiously searching the sky for a medevac helicopter. The bronze sculpture stands about 10 feet tall at its highest point and is 23 feet long and 12 feet wide. With a weight of more than 10 tons, it is the largest sculpture of its kind in the country. On the 30th of April, 1967, the Marines on Hill 881 came under attack. 43 Marines were killed, and some of these had to be left on the Hill to be recovered later. Another 109 were wounded on both 881-N and 881-S. The official Marine Corps history, as recounted in "Marines in Vietnam 1967," describes the battle as "...First Battle of Khe Sanh, one of the bloodiest battles and hardest fought battles of the Vietnam War." Lt. Gen. Victor H. Krulak, USMC speaks of the initial engagement: "The results were the bitterest fighting of the entire war for the Marines." First, the hills. These are ancient hills, formed by volcano, rounded by time, overgrown by triple canopy jungle, overspread by vast average of dense elephant grass, stands of bamboo scattered at random. Here and there are footpaths made by generations of montagnards that wind over ridges and valleys, only wide enough for small people in single file. In some areas, the terrain is impassible; in other areas, the terrain and the vegetation deny passage. The memorial was created by artist Austin Deuel who himself served as a Marine during the war. The dramatic sight of radioman Donald Hassock helping an injured soldier during the battle of April 30, 1967 inspired Deuel to draw the picture that 19 years later would become the model for San Antonio's memorial. The memorial has been official named as "Hill 881-South" but I prefer to borrow the name of a book by Austin Deuel as the title for this photo: ?Vietnam ? Even God Is Against Us?. For additional info on the true story of Hill 881-S, please use these links: http://grunt.space.swri.edu/ltepps.htm http://grunt.space.swri.edu/ctkhesnh.htm http://grunt.space.swri.edu/jwodecki.htm http://grunt.space.swri.edu/satexmem.htm
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