memorial 004a

 

brown_A2 mcintire

 

Mrs. Brown (son Charles above left) and Mrs. McIntire, (son Walter above right) mothers of men from Ann Arbor killed in Vietnam,  requested to join our group at this meeting. On that day there were only seven members of the larger Parks Advisory Commission in attendance. There were more members missing at this meeting than there had been at the previous two meetings combined. A World War II veteran, George Sexton, who had been vocal against the project, substituted for the absent Chairperson Molin. During this final meeting, Mr. Sexton seemed to be gloating during our presentation and the unveiling of our artist’s rendition of our Memorial. It was like our reception by WWII Veterans when we came home from Vietnam. It seemed as if he knew how the vote was going to end up before the meeting started. He was obviously against the proposal from the beginning and made his feelings known by his actions in a very inconsiderate and unprofessional manner. Mr. Sexton seemed to even kill some time for the seventh member to get to the meeting. The late member voted against us without even hearing our presentation. It was a setup. After we completed our presentation, the Advisory Committee voted whether or not to recommend the City Council allow the erection of the, free to the city, Washtenaw County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park.

img 8797a

As the vote of the Advisory members proceeded around the table, I held the hands of Mrs. McIntire and Mrs. Brown. All of us were hoping for a “thumbs up” vote. The vote was quite even as it went around the table. And as it got to the last voters, Mrs. McIntire's grip on my hand increased dramatically. It was obvious to me how much this vote meant to her and Mrs. Brown. Our request was defeated as the vote ended up 4 against and 3 for recommending it go to the City Council. The final decenting vote came from the Acting Chairperson Sexton. At that moment I swear that Mrs. McIntire started to get up to go over and beat Mr. Sexton with her umbrella. I held her back. Those who voted against our request were Austin Anderson, Charlene Berels, Bob Elton and George Sexton. Their voting seemed to have been fixed before the meeting.

We discussed the fact that the WWII Veteran and Korean War voted against the Memorial. We thought it may have been jealousy that they did not erect one for their war dead. But they came home heroes and we did not, we came home to demonstrations. Maybe what we were just wanting was something they wanted to forget.

Those who voted to accept our request to erect our Memorial in Veterans Memorial Park were Linda Carver, Jane Lumm and Susan Schmunk. The two non-voting City Council members in attendance seemed split on supporting the Memorial. Councilman Nelson Meade appeared against it and Councilwoman Ingrid Sheldon was for it.

It was interesting that the three who voted for it were younger women who seemed to relate to the Vietnam War more than the four older members present at this last meeting. There was great dejection felt by all the Vietnam Veterans, family members and friends who were present. As proudly as we could, we rose and left the meeting. Our Memorial group felt betrayed and felt we had experienced an evil setup of votes by the Commission. It was crushing to us and it seemed to open up twenty year old Ann Arbor anti-war scars.

I feel that the plaque in the county building is symbolic of where Vietnam Veterans seem to have stood in Ann Arbor and the county. It was originally just for Korean War and WWII names of those killed from Washtenaw County. The Vietnam KIAs were later added on brass tags screwed on at the margins of the large bronze plaque.

Our Memorial committee immediately held a meeting to begin discussing our next step. We and the two mothers met and talked over things at a nearby restaurant. We discussed whether we should go ahead and try to get the Ann Arbor City Council to override the Park Advisory Commision’s decision. Our committee knew if we succeeded we would have to go back and deal with the same Parks Advisory Commission. Because of that, we decided to look for another location for our beloved Memorial. Chet Brown, Ann Arbor fireman and father of Ann Arbor KIA Charles “Chuckie” Brown, even told us we should go elsewhere, “you would not want to have the Memorial defaced by some anti-war radicals. Can you imagine how you would feel if you drove by it and noticed that it had been all painted up?”

For the next few weeks in the newspaper and on local radio programs people criticized the decision of the Parks Advisory Commission and the City of Ann Arbor. We Memorial Committee members decided to not make negative statements. We let the general public do the talking for us.

It is interesting to point out that In 2014, a skateboard park was erected on the exact spot where we had pictured erecting our Washtenaw County Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Sort of symbolic of the Ann Arbor attitude for our Memorial.