Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Collection

1989-2002
2 boxes (0.3 linear feet)
Call no.: MS 967
rotating decorative images from SCUA collections

The Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial commemorates the 1,536 men and one woman from the state who died during the Vietnam War and the 235,000 veterans who survived. Situated on a four-acre site at Green Hill Park in Worcester, the Memorial was formally dedicated in June 2002.



This small collection contains an assortment of material kept by supporters of the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial during the long struggle to bring their vision to reality. In addition to a handful of letters and news clippings, the collection includes information on the design competition, contract documents, conceptual and construction plans for the memorial, ephemera from the dedication, and a roughly 3' square scale model of the site prepared by the architects.

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Background on Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial

In 1989, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Trust was established by a group of veterans and "other concerned individuals" in Worcester, Mass., with the goal of erecting a memorial to commemorate "the sons and daughters of Massachusetts who lost their lives in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War." Picking up on the earlier, unsuccessful efforts of the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in Boston, the Trust identified Worcester's Green Hill Park as site for the memorial and after holding a design competition, they engaged the architectural firm of Harby, Rogers, and Catanzaro to draft conceptual plans.

Despite receiving proclamations of support from the governor and legislature, however, fundraising for the memorial stalled progress until 1998, when the newly-established Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee (MVVMC) stepped in to assist. Marshalling the support of the state's Commissioner of Veterans' Services Thomas Kelley, state Senators Robert Bernstein and Matthew Amorello, and state Representative William Glodis, the Committee secured $1.4 million from the Legislature to allow work to go forward. Under the supervision of Parks Commissioner Michael V. O'Brien, the memorial was completed and delivered for dedication on June 9, 2002.

A four-acre site located on Skyline Drive at Green Hill Park in Worcester, the memorial pays tribute to the state's 1,536 men and one woman who died during the war and the 235,000 veterans who survived. Designed by the edge of a pond, the memorial is organized in three sections: the Place of Flags, Place of Words (reproducing text from letters written home by service members who died in Vietnam), and Place of Names (where the names of every Massachusetts resident who died in combat or as a result of wounds received is carved in stone). On Sept. 8, 2011, a granite memorial was added to the site to honor the service and sacrifice of over 4,000 war dogs, mostly German shepherds, who served in the conflict.

Scope of collection

This small collection contains an assortment of material kept by supporters of the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial during the long struggle to bring their vision to reality. In addition to a handful of letters and news clippings, the collection includes information on the design competition, contract documents, conceptual and construction plans for the memorial, ephemera from the dedication, and a roughly 3' square scale model of the site prepared by the architects.

Inventory

An act designating a certain memorial the official memorial of the Commonwealth to honor the Vietnam War veterans of the Commonwealth
1989
Box 1: 1
Architects' resumes
ca.1989
Box 1: 2
Competition rules and guidelines (for design of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial)
ca.1989
Box 1: 3
Contract documents for the construction of a: Statewide Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Green Hill Park, Worcester
2000
Box 1: 4
Correspondence (Paul T. Price, John Kerry, Paul Cellucci, W. Paul White, Michael V. O'Brien, City of Worcester, Harby, Catanzaro and Rogers)
1990-2000
Box 1: 5
Levy, Eldredge, and Wagner Associates: Notice of intent... plans no. 2 and 3
1991 Nov. 12
Box 1: 6
Levy, Eldredge, and Wagner Associates: Site plans: Existing Site plan and Conceptual improvement plan
1988
Box 1: 7
Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial dedication ceremony ephemera
1989-2002
Box 1: 8
Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial Trust: information packet
1990
Box 1: 9
News clippings
1989-1998
Box 1: 10
Notice of intent under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act...
1991 Nov. 20
Box 1: 11
Photographs: Dedication ceremony at the Massachusetts State House
1992
Box 1: 12
Weston and Sampson, Engineers: Plans for construction of a Vietnam Veterans' Memorial at Green Hill Park, Worcester
2000 Dec. 27
Box OS 2
Weston and Sampson, Engineers: Architect's model for a Vietnam Veterans' Memorial at Green Hill Park, Worcester
2000
Box OS

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Gift of Michael Dumas, 2013.

Processing Information

Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, March 2017.

Language:

English

Copyright and Use (More information )

Cite as: Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Collection (MS 967). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search terms

Subjects

  • Harby, Catanzaro, and Rogers
  • Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial (Worcester, Mass.)
  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Monuments
  • War memorials--Massachusetts--Worcester
  • Worcester (Mass.)

Contributors

  • Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial (Worcester, Mass.) [main entry]
  • Cellucci, Argeo Paul, 1948-2013
  • Kerry, John, 1943-

Genres and formats

  • Architectural drawings (visual works)
  • Architectural models

Link to similar SCUA collections