- Target:
- Texas Governor Rick Perry
- Region:
- United States of America
During the Vietnam War, more than 250,000 South Vietnamese and 58,000 American soldiers were killed in action, plus hundreds of thousands of soldiers missing and wounded.
Today, the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument is the symbol of the noble sacrifice of American soldiers, and also a tool to educate our next generations how bravely and proudly our soldiers had fought.
The image of a South Vietnamese soldier should be included as initially designed.
From: Concerned Vietnamese American Citizens
To: The Honorable Rick Perry
Governor of Texas
P.O. Box 12428 • Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-2000
October 6, 2012
Dear Governor Perry:
In its 79th regular session, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed Resolution 36 on May 5th, 2005 to build a Vietnam War Monument to honor the Texans who served in the Vietnam War.
The Resolution was also supported by Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Tom Craddick. The first design of the monument, named Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument, featured four American servicemen representing different ethnic groups and a soldier of the Republic of Vietnam. This design was approved by the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument Executive Committee and its Steering Committee. It was also submitted to and approved by the State Preservation Board for building on the Texas Capitol ground.
Vietnamese American community in Texas was informed and invited to participate in the project from the beginning. Since then, many Vietnamese Americans were involved and have contributed to this project.
Unfortunately, in July 2012, the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument Executive Committee, chaired by Mr. Robert Floyd, decided to change the name of the monument to “The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument”, so that they could replace the soldier of Republic of Vietnam with an Asian Texan soldier. The Executive Board unilaterally made this decision without consulting with the Steering Committee and the Vietnamese American community.
This decision has violated the trust that both Houses of the Texas Legislature had on the Executive Board to realize the spirit of the Resolution 36. It doesn’t reflect the truth that American soldiers were invited to Vietnam to help Vietnamese fighting for their freedom and to stop the spreading of Communism in South-East Asia. South Vietnam soldiers and American soldiers always fought side by side during the war.
The new design with five American soldiers can be used by our Communist enemies to support their propaganda that Americans were unquestionably the aggressors. As a result, it takes away the noble cause of American soldiers who came to Vietnam to help South Vietnamese Armed Forces to defend the freedom of Vietnamese people.
Besides, the decision to take the South Vietnamese soldier out from the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument is an insult to many Vietnamese American veterans and people in the Vietnamese American community.
We humbly request your support to restore the original design of the Texas Capitol Vietnam War Monument.
We are grateful for your consideration.
Very truly yours,
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The Please, Return to the initial Texas Capitol Vietnam Monument Design petition to Texas Governor Rick Perry was written by Michael Do and is in the category Miscellaneous at GoPetition.