WASHINGTON CITY – A project years in the making and the culmination of one woman’s dream is set to take place Saturday as the Vietnam Veterans Monument will be unveiled and dedicated at its permanent home: Zion Harley Davidson, 2345 N. Coral Canyon Blvd., Washington City.
As the widow of a Vietnam veteran, St. George resident Judith Cooley has been tirelessly working to see her vision for this monument – which will contain the names of Vietnam veterans both living and deceased – come to fruition.
It has been a labor of love for Cooley and those who came on board to lend their support to the project from its beginning stages until today. For everyone involved, it has been a show of solidarity to those who served in Vietnam and had their lives forever impacted by the war, whether they returned home or not.
Cooley called the monument a welcome-home parade for the veterans.
“The Vietnam veterans were treated horribly when they came home,” Cooley said in a previous interview with St. George News. “They didn’t get the big parades. All they got was spit on and called names. And this is a way to say ‘welcome home and we do thank you for your service. This is your big parade.'”
Saturday’s ceremony be attended by state and local dignitaries and will feature a flag ceremony by Marine Corps League Detachment 1270 and speakers representing Vietnam veterans. Patriotic musical numbers will open and close the ceremony.
Danny Greathouse, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Southern Utah Chapter 961, will emcee the event, and Cooley will dedicate the monument.
A celebratory barbecue will take place immediately following the dedication.
Event details
- What: Vietnam Veterans Monument Dedication Ceremony
- When: Saturday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m.
- Where: Zion Harley Davidson, 2345 N. Coral Canyon Blvd., Washington City
- Cost: Free
- Additional information: A barbecue celebration will follow the dedication
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