Elmhurst’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial set to open this month
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A Vietnam veterans memorial will now honor the hundreds of men who were killed or listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. Eagle photo by David Brand.
By Jonathan Sperling
One year after workers broke ground on the Queens Vietnam Veterans Memorial inside Elmhurst Park, city officials are just days away from cutting the ribbon on Queens’ first boroughwide Vietnam War landmark.
On Dec. 20, Borough President Melinda Katz and representatives from the city’s Parks Department will unveil the memorial, which features the names of the 371 Queens service members who died during the Vietnam War or who are classified as missing in action. The memorial sits on the northwest corner of Elmhurst Park, near the intersection of Grand Avenue and 79th Street.
Efforts to build the memorial began well before construction began. Fundraising went on for 10 years, Vietnam Veterans of America National President John Rowand told the Eagle last year. John Toro, a Marine Corps veteran who died in 2014, was the “prime mover of the project,” Rowand said.
“It’s been a long haul and the result of a lot of work from a lot of people,” said Rowand, a Middle Village resident who grew up in Elmhurst. “It’s recognition of the service of the men and women of Queens and it’s long overdue recognition.”
In addition to Rowand and Toro, Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 32 President Manuel Edenhofer and former President Michael O’Kane were also instrumental in getting the project off the ground. The three are among the nearly 59,000 veterans who call Queens home.
The design and construction of the memorial was funded in part by a $2.3 million capital funding allocation by Katz during fiscal year 2017-18.
The memorial holds a special significance in the world’s most diverse borough. Rowand told the Eagle that the memorial represents the varied backgrounds of Queens’ Vietnam veterans.
“This memorial is really very representative of Queens . . . a lot of people on that wall aren’t citizens,” Rowand said. “It’s indicative of Queens then and now.”
The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at the northwest corner of Grand Avenue and 79th Street beginning at 10 a.m.
