Atlanta unveils city's first Vietnam War memorial in Piedmont Park

Atlanta unveils Vietnam War memorial in Piedmont

More than 10 years after the project was first envisioned, the City of Atlanta officially opened a Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Piedmont Park on Sunday.

ATLANTA - More than 10 years after the project was first envisioned, the City of Atlanta officially opened a new Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Piedmont Park on Sunday to honor local soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.

What we know:

The memorial, located near 14th Street in Piedmont Park, features pillars extending toward the sky and the phrase "Freedom is not free" etched into the ground.

It was built through a partnership between the city and the Sons of Atlanta, with funding provided by the City's Park Improvement Fund.

Atlanta City Council Member Michael Bond, who helped spearhead the project, noted that the city worked closely with the Fulton County Veterans Commission and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington to verify and enshrine the names of the fallen.

The monument honors about 240 service members who grew up in Atlanta and the surrounding Fulton County area.

The backstory:

While veterans organizations and local groups have pushed for a dedicated space for years, city officials said this marks the first official Vietnam War memorial in Atlanta.

What they're saying:

"The pillars here are extending toward the sky because it sends a message, one that this is an uplifting space," Bond said. "It's not downtrodden. We're uplifting the sacrifices they made toward the heavens."

For the veterans in attendance, the memorial is deeply personal.

Raymond Tatum, a Vietnam War veteran, pointed out the name of a childhood friend, Allan Stegall Jr., who grew up with him in the Summerhill community.

"God blessed me to get back here, to experience life from 18 to 75, where a lot of the young guys didn't make it back to experience life," Tatum said. "I never thought at the time when Allan was killed in Vietnam that I would find myself in that same situation, but fortunately, I was able to get back."
Veteran Ernest Hopewell echoed the sentiment that the recognition was overdue.

"We're being honored and being recognized, finally," Hopewell said. "When I came on, we had nothing like this, you know? It is better now than never."

"It's very emotional to come to fruition, to see these veterans honored," Bond said. "I mean, these are the men that gave everything, who sacrificed their lives for our freedom here."