San Jose unveils war monument at Vietnamese Heritage Garden

San Jose’s Vietnamese community is celebrating a long-anticipated monument symbolizing its post-war roots in the city after the project faced years of delays.

The statue, unveiled Saturday at the Vietnamese Heritage Garden, features a Vietnamese soldier and an American soldier, both armed and standing beside each other atop rocky terrain in front of the flags for both countries. District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan, who represents the Kelley Park neighborhood where the garden was created, stood beside fellow elected officials who helped bring the monument to life. Doan said he wants it to be a place for reflection, education and inspiration to future generations.

“As the biggest Vietnamese (city) population outside of Vietnam, I see our monument as a living, breathing part of the Vietnamese American community. A place to remember the hardships of war, celebrate the freedom they found in the U.S., and honor the strength and contributions to their new home,” Doan told San José Spotlight.

The unveiling ceremony featured a flag salute of both the U.S. and Republic of Vietnam flags, a memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers and a traditional ritual presided over by Thích Pháp Hạnh. Attendees ranged from men in their fully decorated military uniforms from the Vietnam War and others young enough to not have experienced the war almost 50 years ago. They all gathered underneath large canopies surrounded by flowers and vintage images of Vietnamese soldiers oversees.

Peter Vu, a representative with the Vietnamese American Roundtable, said his parents were among the many who resettled in the U.S. following the war and helped make San Jose the city with the largest Vietnamese population in the country by far.

“Having a statue like that is so important for the Vietnamese population that does reside here, just knowing the city does see them and their journeys are appreciated by the city,” he told San José Spotlight.

City officials allocated $150,000 during the 2023-24 budget to prepare for the statue’s installation and begin work on grading, drainage, creating a defined walking path, tree planting, installing benches, irrigation and vegetation. But plans for the monument date back to 2011 when community leaders began discussing ideas for a memorial to honor American and South Vietnamese soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. Former San Jose Councilmember Tam Nguyen, State Sen. Dave Cortese and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez are among the elected officials who pushed for funding over the years to build the monument.

Officials hope the monument will become the centerpiece of the Vietnamese Heritage Garden and that it comes to represent the contributions of the nearly 130,000 Vietnamese residents in San Jose.

“This marks the beginning of a new era for a space that pays homage to the journey that thousands of families took to find a better life here in America,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement.

Community members wanted a statue to symbolize the alliance between the U.S. and South Vietnam during the county’s struggle for independence and war against communism throughout the 1960s and 1970s. But past the military partnership, the two men depicted in the statue also reflect the bonds between the Vietnamese and Americans that continue to this day.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I am so excited for the future of this site,” Doan told San José Spotlight.