It’s the war our country tried to forget even as the veterans who fought it can never forget: Vietnam. So it’s not surprising that what should be a renowned destination point in Orange County is – outside of Westminster – barely known.
I’m talking about Sid Goldstein Freedom Park in the Civic Center area, a tribute to the American troops and South Vietnamese warriors who fought side-by-side against the communist Vietcong hell-bent on imposing their northern ways on the southern part of that country thousands of miles away.
Don’t get me wrong. This is no pity party, and I’m heartened that we’ve come a long way since some misguided citizens – maybe the understatement of the year – spat upon vets returning from that war and spewed invectives at them.
These days, no matter our feelings about our politicians’ decisions to go to war, we give respect to the men and women who are sent to fight.
But being a child of the 1960s and 70s, I still think about Vietnam, the terrible toll, the strife it caused, the black-and-white images on TV that are indelibly etched on my mind.
Besides, a few weeks ago, while visiting Saigon Mall, I ran into a Vietnamese-American veteran of that war who reminded me how deep the wound is, so I made a return trip to Freedom Park the other day.
For those of you who haven’t been there, here’s a quick primer on the lay of the land: It’s about 2 acres featuring grassy areas, a garden, bench-lined walkways, donors’ plaques, a plaque commemorating local veteran Sid Goldstein and at the center of it all the monument, a fountain and an eternal flame.
The bronze monument, portraying an American infantry soldier and a soldier from the former Republic of South Vietnam standing side-by-side on a marble base, with the flags of their countries behind them, is 11-feet-high and was designed and sculpted by Tuan Nguyen.
It was longtime City Councilman Frank Fry who spearheaded the Vietnam War Memorial Project back in the late 1990s. The dedication of the memorial was held nearly 10 years ago on April 27, 2003.
When I visited the other day it was nearly people-less, which has been the case the handful of times I’ve been there. How distasteful it was to see a homeless man with a grocery cart and all his belongings encamped in the corner of the park. I offered him some change and chastised myself on the ride home for not asking the obvious: are you a veteran?
What a column that would have been. Perhaps I’ll return.
I also ran into a visitor from Washington D.C. who had happened on the park toward the end of a trip to Southern California that included the usual jaunts to Disneyland and Hollywood. She couldn’t believe we have our own war memorial.
“The one in D.C. is pretty impressive, too,” I told her.
And it is.
But so is ours. And more locals – and tourists – should know about it.
Heritage Monument, the centerpiece of Sid Goldstein Freedom Park in the civic center area of Westminster