44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO DIRECT THE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF THE STATE ACQUIRING THE VIETNAM VETERANS NATIONAL MEMORIAL IN ANGEL FIRE.

WHEREAS, Victor Westphall, his wife Jeanne and younger son Douglas began building a memorial shortly after his son Victor David Westphall was killed in Vietnam in 1968; and

WHEREAS, they employed the services of Ted Luna to design a structure with gentle curves, more a sculpture than a conventional building; and

WHEREAS, the memorial is an enduring symbol not only of the tragedy of David's death but of the tragedy and futility of war; and

WHEREAS, since its opening in 1971, the memorial has gained in attention and visitors now number about seventy thousand annually; and

WHEREAS, the memorial was the first memorial dedicated to all Vietnam veterans; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico is proud to be the home of this distinguished and distinctive symbol;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative council be requested to direct the appropriate committee to study the feasibility of the state acquiring the vietnam veterans national memorial in angel Fire; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico legislative council.