LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada State Veterans Memorial opened Wednesday at the Thunderbird Sports Complex in the northwest Las Vegas Valley.
For double Purple Heart veteran Vincent Palmieri, the memorial is a welcome home and a sense of acceptance he said he never got when he returned from the Vietnam War.
“Standing in front of this Vietnam statue brings back a lot of memories,” Palmieri said. “Some are good, some I don’t want to remember. But I feel that my brothers and sisters, we can come here.”
Statues move from Grant Sawyer Building
The memorial features 18 statues representing service members from the Revolutionary War to the global war on terror.
The statues did not have a permanent home for a time. They were previously at the Grant Sawyer Building, but that area was redeveloped for affordable housing.
Palmieri said he was brought to tears when he first saw the statues in their new home.
“I came in the gate and my body just like kind of froze,” Palmieri said. “And as I got in closer, he came up to me, and my eyes were filling with tears because if you saw this at the Grant Sawyer Building and you see this here today, it’s like day and night.”
Officials speak at ceremony
The mayor of Las Vegas, local politicians and the Metro police sheriff spoke at the ceremony about the importance of honoring those who served.
“This is the most beautiful Veterans Memorial I have ever seen,” the mayor said. “And I’m so proud of the city. And so proud to be the mayor of a city that cares so much about its Veterans.”
Ward 4 Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske said the memorial was years in the making. She said it is “the largest veterans memorial in size and scope west of the Mississippi.”
Palenske said she lobbied the governor for the location, which is in a part of the valley that many service members and veterans call home.
“It’s greatly situated, about halfway distance between Creech Air Force Base and Nellis Air Force Base,” she said. “So we have a lot of active duty military living in the Northwest part of the Valley, and a lot of retirees by virtue of being centrally located. So there’s a lot of veterans here.”
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Turnout and future plans
Palenske said the turnout was greater than expected.
“We had 350 RSVPs, so we rented 350 chairs, and it felt like 600 or 700 people with standing room only,” she said.
She said she hopes the space will remind veterans they are appreciated. The memorial also includes an amphitheater that will host events for years to come.
Palenske said the city is working on an audio component so visitors can listen and learn about the history behind each sculpture. She said the memorial’s website has just been completed, and the city is working with CCSD and UNLV on curriculum and field trips at the memorial.
Cost and funding
The project cost a total of $7.7 million. Almost half was funded by the state, with donors covering the rest.
The city of Las Vegas said it is still raising money. People interested in helping can contact the Mayor’s Fund.
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