PHILADELPHIA, April 13 /PRNewswire/ — Veterans and other volunteers will gather Wednesday, April 14, at noon at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial to voice their concern over vandalism and to offer their support by patrolling at the site.

The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is organizing veterans and others to monitor activities at the Memorial starting this week through Memorial Day. Veterans will be asked to speak at the noon press conference to voice their concern about the desecration of the Memorial.

More detail will be provided about the patrols and other measures to halt the vandalism from skateboarders and inline skaters, who have actually been destroying devices designed to halt such activity. Scores of veterans already have contacted the fund volunteering to patrol at the site on Front and Spruce streets.

A limited number of copies of the surveillance tapes showing the vandalism will be available, as well as new, more prominent signage outlining illegal activities at the Memorial. The Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides oversight at the Memorial in cooperation with the Fairmount Park.

Three juveniles from the Philadelphia suburbs were apprehended March 7 by police who have charged them with desecration of a memorial, a third degree felony that is punishable by fines and imprisonment.

Coordinating the Veteran activities will be Dennis Best, vice president of the Memorial Fund, assisted by James Moran, Memorial Custodian.

The Memorial Fund last fall completed the first phase of its “Duty to Remember” Campaign for the restoration and preservation of the Memorial at Spruce and Front Streets. The fund is working to raise $500,000 for the second phase which will involve creating an opening in the “wall of scenes” on the Spruce Street side of the Memorial to make it easier for police to spot offenders and also create greater awareness at the enclosed site. For more information, visit www.pvvm.org. The Memorial honors the 646 Philadelphians who were lost in the Vietnam War.

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PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Contractors are laying paving material this week that will transform the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial as part of the first phase of the restoration and preservation project for the Penn’s Landing landmark at Front and Spruce Streets.

The material, which will resemble granite pavers, is being poured throughout the week and replaces the bricks that have been in place since the Memorial was dedicated 21 years ago. Weather and wear had caused the bricks to become uneven and, in some cases, hazardous, noted Terry Williamson, president of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which oversees the site in conjunction with the Fairmount Park.

New flagpoles representing all of the Armed Services should be installed the following week behind the “all of Names” at the site. Other improvements include refurbishing the names on the wall, resurfacing and replacing damaged granite, installing a 24/7 security camera and moving the Purple Heart Monument to its own location on the north side of the Memorial

Work on the project started on August 1 and should be completed in late October. The $500,000 project is the first phase of the “Duty to Remember” initiative which will involve eventually opening up the Spruce Street side of the Memorial to provide direct access and a line of sight to the Wall of Names. The main purpose of that phase, however, will be to make it more difficult for vandals and others to desecrate the Memorial. The secluded nature of the Memorial makes it difficult for Police to view inside.

The Memorial fund is planning to raise another $400,000 to complete the second phase. To assist in that effort a grass roots fund-raising effort has been launched at the www.pvvm.org. Information is also available on 646 limited edition Memorial bricks removed from the original site.

Work on the project will be visible throughout the week. Contact Terry Williamson for more information.

PHILADELPHIA, May 22 /PRNewswire/ — Police and firefighters who lost their lives in the Vietnam War will be honored during Memorial Day observances Monday, May 25 at noon at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Front and Spruce streets at Penn’s Landing.

Keynote speaker will be retired Army Col. Joseph T. Cox, the headmaster of the Haverford School and Vietnam Veteran. Col. Cox is a former English and composition professor of the U.S. Military Academy of West Point, NY.

“There is a proud tradition among our police and firefighters of serving our country, a tradition that continues today,” noted Terry A. Williamson, president of the Memorial Fund Board of Directors. “The recent fatalities among the Police Department only served to highlight the sacrifice of these brave men and women, who risk their lives to preserve the public safety.”

The four former police and firefighters who are among the 646 service men honored at the Memorial are: Police Officer James J. Kline, 25th District, US Army, killed in Vietnam on May 14, 1968 and posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross; Police Officer Francis E. “Gene” Sievers, Jr., 22nd District, US Army, killed in Vietnam on March 16, 1969 and posthumously awarded the Silver Star; Fire Fighter Harry T. Kite Jr., Engine 29, US Army, killed in Vietnam on November 24, 1968 and posthumously awarded the Silver Star; Fire Fighter Albert C. “Algi” Wall Jr., Ladder 30, US Army, killed in Vietnam on June 19, 1969. To read their complete biographies and others honored at the Memorial, visit the web site at www.pvvm.org.

In concert with the 21st Memorial Day observance, the Fund Board has launched a web-based fund-raising effort to restore the Memorial and open the Spruce Street side of the site in an effort to halt vandalism and desecration. Only two weeks ago, vandals pasted lewd and obscene posters on the wall of names in what has been a problem since the Memorial’s dedication. For more information, visit the Memorial web site.