Special to the American Press

On Monday, Mayor Nic Hunter was joined by state Sen. Jeremy Stine, Deputy Secretary Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Dr. Jerome Buller, local elected officials and members of the Mayor’s Armed Forces Commission to break ground on the official Louisiana Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The memorial, set to be located in Veterans Memorial Park, will display all 885 names of Vietnam War casualties from Louisiana.

“Hosting this groundbreaking ceremony as part of our annual Veterans Day Ceremony was a fitting way to pay tribute to all of our veterans, but particularly to our Vietnam Veterans who through no fault of their own, in many cases did not receive a proper welcome home from their tour of duty,” said Mayor Nic Hunter. “We were surprised to learn that there was no officially dedicated Louisiana Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and thanks to legislation carried by Senator Jeremy Stine in the last regular session, Lake Charles will be the one and only city in the entire state to claim this honor.”

As part of the ceremony, VVA Chapter 215 performed a Farewell to Warriors Ceremony, the Marine Corps League Det. 535 provided and 21-Gun Salute, and FK White Director of Bands Betsy Stoupy played Taps.

“Including this historic groundbreaking with our Veterans Day programming was very welcomed by our Commission members and the veteran community as a whole,” added Mayor’s Armed Forces Commission President James Dodd. “It is an honor to have our beautiful Veterans Memorial Park serve as the home for this long overdue memorial for our fallen soldiers. We look forward to unveiling this world-class tribute next spring.”

The Louisiana Vietnam Veterans Memorial is being made possible through the successful passage of the LC REBOUND tax neutral bond proposition passed by voters last fall and a number of private donors.

The project is expected to be complete and unveiled as part of the Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Ceremony scheduled for March 2025.