Punta Gorda is now home to a new permanent replica of theVietnam Memorial Wall. Nearly 1,000 people, many of them Vietnam Veterans, attended the dedication in Laishley Park in Punta Gorda on Saturday.
The half-scale memorial is the seventh replica of the dramatic and once-controversial monument to be built in the United States.
Ret. Air Force Major General Richard Carr, an F-4 fighter pilot in Vietnam, is president of the organization that built the memorial.
"We would like to dedicate this memorial to the memory of the 58,000-plus men and women on the wall, their friends, their families, and all their loved ones," said Carr.
He told the crowd the wall can provide catharsis to those still suffering the after-effects of the Vietnam War. He said he also hopes it’s used to keep the war from being forgotten.
"Our last true wish is that those who teach our children use it to keep future
generations aware of the sacrifice made by these heroes, and to teach the
lessons learned from one of the most contentious eras in our history, so
hopefully, it will not be repeated," said Carr.
The memorial was funded by $650,000 in private contributions along with $50,000 from Charlotte County and $150,000 from the state. The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun-salute followed by the playing of Taps.