Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park is a place dear to my heart. It was the first major Vietnam memorial in the United States and is currently the only State Park dedicated exclusively to veterans of the Vietnam War, and the only free state park in New Mexico. It is located off US Highway 64 in Angel Fire in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the Enchanted Circle of northeastern New Mexico.
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The memorial was begun by Victor and Jeanne Westphall, the parents of Marine First Lieutenant David Westphall, who was among sixteen young men in his unit killed in an ambush in 1968 in Vietnam
The Westphalls used their son’s insurance policies to begin construction of the Peace and Brotherhood Chapel in 1971.
The chapel resembles a sail and perches on the hillside overlooking the Moreno Valley. The chapel is open twenty-four hours per day.
Not many people know that The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C was inspired by The Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park in Angel Fire, New Mexico.
SPC Lori Anne Piestewa (December 14, 1979–March 23, 2003) was a U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps soldier killed during the same Iraqi Army attack in which her friend Jessica Lynch was injured. A member of the Hopi tribe, Piestewa was the first woman in the U.S. armed forces killed in the 2003 Iraq war and is the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving with the U.S. military. These tags were placed on one of the memorial stones outside the chapel.
You may have heard about her story on Extreme Makeover~Home Edition during the show’s first season. There are several videos posted up on You Tube~ Lori Piestewa if you want to see them, just be sure to have a box of tissues handy. I’ve not cried so many tears during a TV show ever. This video below is the last in a series of 10. It’s my favorite because they show the reactions of Lori’s parents and her children, as well as their beautiful paint horse, Arapahoe.
The first time we visited The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Angel Fire, New Mexico, was in 1996 and I was 2 months pregnant with my twin sons. (These are photos from my scrapbooks)
We also had the extreme pleasure of meeting Dr. Victor Westphall in person, during our visit, before he passed away.
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