Acknowledgements & Project History

Acknowledgements

Juan José Peña and Louis Téllez of the GI Forum, Bob and Joanna Ulibarrí of the Vietnam Veterans of America and Freddy Montoya of American Legion Post 69 endorsed the project years ago and helped identify VHS students who were killed in Vietnam.

Anthony Griego, VHS Principal, and SGM Debra Meyers, CW4 Nathan Trujillo and SGT Jess López of the VHS Army Junior ROTC program, endorse and enthusiastically support the project. 

Dee-Dee Chapman, Commander of American Legion Post 69 in Alameda, Rudy Chávez (VHS ’63) and Robert Trujillo, past commanders of Post 69, Pro Padilla (VHS ’65) Commander of the Post 69 Honor Guard and Randolph Montoya, Leonard Durán and Danny Padilla of the Post 69 Sons of the American Legion, Rodney Sánchez, Commander of American Legion Post 72 in Albuquerque, David Carbajal, Commander of American Legion Post 13 and Paul Espinoza, past Commander of American Legion Post 13 in Albuquerque, Joseph J. Rasmusson, Commander of American Legion Post 100 in Albuquerque, Dewey Patton, Commander of American Legion Post 117 in Clovis, Terrance Brown, Commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5432, Corrales and Jake López, President of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 996 in Santa Fe are commended and thanked for their success in securing donations from their respective memberships.

Glenn Fellows (VHS ’64) produced the final plan, which was approved by Karen Alarid, Director of the APS Facilities Design & Construction.

Donna Johnstone Bearden and Roy Brisky enlarged yearbook photos for the Memorial. Glenn Fellows and his niece, Brianna Ehlers, mounted the photos and nameplates on the Memorial.

Fritzi Reay Hardy (VHS ’65) has not only made generous donations, she worked hard to let fellow VHS ’65 graduates know about this project.

Lou Santilena of Inidel Inc. for coordinating the website development.

Last but not least, David Wilson (Vice President) and Eloy Gómez (Treasurer) have been instrumental in moving the project forward. Their expertise regarding non-profits, tax issues and fundraising has been invaluable.

Establishing the VHS Veterans Memorial

It is embarrassing to admit that I thought of establishing the VHS VM&SF in the 1990s but work and family matters always took precedence. However, the clock keeps ticking and the stark reality that I could not put it off any longer if we were to achieve our goals before “shuffling off this mortal coil.”

Rudy Chávez, VHS ’63 and USMC Vietnam veteran, is past Commander at American Legion Post 69 in Alameda. He is also the quartermaster of the VFW Post in Corrales, where Terry Brown serves as commander. Terry is a retired architect who listened patiently as I described my vision of a granite wall 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide displaying the names and photos of the twelve young men we are honoring. He asked how we proposed to get that extremely heavy granite slab into the building. He also asked how much weight the concrete floor in the lobby could tolerate. I was disappointed in having been so naïve and not having considered such fundamental questions. I guess that is why it is important to consult professionals.

Chastened by my naivete, I drove home “bummed out,” but glad that I had consulted a pro. Just after crossing the Corrales bridge I caught sight of a sign I had never noticed before. A quick U-turn brought me to the sign designating the area as the County-City-Bachechi open space. It was 7 ft. high, 12 ft. wide  and made of two plates of  3/8 inches wide supported by 2 x 2 inch hollow steel stanchions. The memorial would be made of steel! I went back to consult with Terry who saw the new plan as feasible and drew a preliminary sketch that I could take to APS for consideration. I shared the drawing with Denise Hammer, APS architect, and Karen Alarid, Director of the APS Facilities and Design Department. They thought it was a great idea, but the project could not be formally approved until plans were submitted by an APS on-call architect.

Glenn Fellows (VHS ’64) is on the APS on-call list of architects. He completed the final plans and obtained cost estimates from people in the sign business. He suggested that aluminum rather than steel would allow for an easier installation and lower the cost. He also noted that metal panels are typically 4×8. Thus, the final design was only four feet wide rather than 5 feet, and seven feet tall. Photos on metal are 8 x 10 inches and gold nameplates are 2 x 10 inches.

The Memorial was dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 2022 with more than 200 people in attendance. The first goal has been accomplished with the help of many alumni, relatives, friends, veterans organizations and individual veterans. Eli Padilla

For further information regarding the military service of the ten VHS students who died in Vietnam, please go to the Wall of Faces website, which is affiliated with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.