In concert with Memorial Day on May 25, the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Board is launching a grass roots fund-raising effort that will "permit every patriotic and concerned citizen a chance to show they care" about the continuing desecration of the Memorial at Penn's Landing.

The Board also announced that it will be honoring the four Philadelphia police officers and firefighters who lost their lives in Vietnam during ceremonies at noon at the Memorial at Front and Spruce Streets. The keynote speaker will be Joseph T. Cox, headmaster of the Haverford School and a retired Army colonel who served in Vietnam.

The Memorial, dedicated in 1987, was built largely with individual donations from veterans and others and "we hope the same sort of spirit will permit every patriotic and concerned citizen a chance to show they care," said Terry A. Williamson, president of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which oversees the Memorial in cooperation with the Fairmount Park.

The Memorial, which was designed as an enclosed amphitheater for quiet reflection, has instead become a hidden place to commit vandalism or use skateboards virtually since it was built more than 20 years ago. In the most recent act of desecration, lewd and obscene posters were pasted on the wall of names honoring the 646 servicemen who lost their lives in Vietnam. Central detectives of the Philadelphia Police Department are investigating.

"With the sacrifices of men and women in the war against terror, it is hard to understand why anyone would commit these despicable acts" Williamson said. It doesn't just dishonor those who died in Vietnam, but all who are serving or have served."

The Board two years ago launched a $2 million "Duty to Remember" Campaign and to date has raised more than $500,000 for the preservation and restoration of the Memorial in an effort to reverse two decades wear and weather. Work on "Phase I" is expected to start soon and involves repairs to paving and hard surfaces, a video security system, new lighting and the refurbishing of the wall of names. Phase II involves opening the "wall of scenes" on the Spruce Street side of the Memorial to provide a view inside the Memorial.

"Unfortunately, all the new lighting and security cameras in the world won't stop the vandalism," Williamson said. "Police and security experts agree that the key is opening up the Memorial as a deterrent to those who would deface the Memorial."

Contact: John Scott McAllister
610-742-2538