Combat vets ready to put vandalized Vietnam memorial to rights

West Richland’s vandalized Vietnam memorial will soon be put right, thanks to a wave of community donations that helped a veterans group order a replacement.

Combat Veterans International Chapter 3, serving veterans in the Tri-Cities, ordered a new statue for the memorial more than a year ago after vandals destroyed the original.

The statue arrived this week and will be installed at Flat Top Park when a stone foundation to secure it is ready.

Like the one it replaces, the memorial statue features a Vietnam-era rifle, muzzle-down between a pair of combat boots, a helmet hanging on its butt.

The veterans group and the West Richland Chamber of Commerce dedicated the original on Nov. 10, 2001. The rifle, helmet and boots were separate pieces, which apparently made it vulnerable to vandals. It was repeatedly damaged and repaired. A final 2014 attack removed the rifle and helmet, leaving only a solitary set of damaged boots and a plaque with the inscription, “Freedom is not Free.”

The new version is cast in a single piece of bronze. Supporters hope it will be less enticing to vandals, or at least more resistant to harm.

“Hopefully, it’s more damage-proof,” said Paul Santis, vice president of the Tri-City combat group. Santis is an Air Force veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The club, based in Finley, raised about $13,000 from the community after word got out. The group customized its statue so that all the pieces reflect gear used in Vietnam. The maker didn’t have Vietnam-era helmets, so the Combat Veterans group sent along its own sample. When the statue arrived this week, the helmet was carefully packed inside in its own crate.

Bobby Dale, a Vietnam veteran who spent 16 years in the Army, said he was grateful to the community for supporting efforts to replace the statue. He hopes the strong condemnation will make would-be vandals pause before they consider desecrating a memorial to the country’s war dead.

“When the people speak, you might want to try listening,” he said.

This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Combat vets ready to put vandalized Vietnam memorial to rights."