Vietnam War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Park, Kansas City, MO, USA
Posted by: 
HANSENNI
N 39° 03.015 W 094° 35.284
15S E 362580 N 4323552
A memorial fountain and monument wall containing the names of 385 Kansas City area servicemen who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. Park is at Baltimore and 43rd Streets.
Waymark Code: WM5Z02
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 03/04/2009
Views: 19
The artist of this fountain was David Baker, a Vietnam veteran. His design uses a series of rectangular and overlapping pools. The series of pools begins at the top of the hill with smaller pools spilling into larger pools as they descend down the hill. The pools increase in size to represent the nation’s increasing involvement and investment in the war. The water from the pools eventually spills into two separate pools to symbolize the division within the country that resulted from the war.
In addition to the fountain, a wall ten feet high and 155 feet in length makes up a part of the memorial. The wall is inscribed with the names of 385 men who were killed or missing in action in the war. These men come from Kansas City or the surrounding seven-county metropolitan area. The names on the wall are flanked by representations of the Vietnam Service medal on the left and the Purple Heart medal on the right.
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WATER, LIKE TIME HAS THE POWER TO CLEANSE AND HEAL. THIS
MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN STANDS AS A SYMBOL OF THAT HEALING,
FROM THE DEVASTATING DIVISION CAUSED BY THE VIETNAM WAR.
THE FOUNTAIN'S POOLS REPRESENT THE COUNTRY'S GROWING
INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR, CULMINATING IN TWO POOLS SYMBOLIC
OF THE DIVIDED OPINIONS OF THE TIME.
AMERICANS TOOK DISTINCT AND DIFFERING STANDS ON THE
WAR AND CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE WERE THE THOUSANDS OF MEN
AND WOMEN FROM THE KANSAS CITY AREA WHO SERVED IN
VIETNAM, HUNDREDS OF WHOM WERE KILLED OR ARE MISSING AND
UNACCOUNTED FOR. THIS MEMORIAL IS TO HONOR THEM AND
BRING US ALL TOGETHER IN TRIBUTE TO THEIR DEDICATION
AND BRAVERY.
THE PARK IS FOR ALL OF KANSAS CITY TO ENJOY, AND TO
REMEMBER.
Placed by:: Kansas City, MO
Date Placed: 12/16/1985
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Visit Instructions:
Waymarks visited should include a full photo of the memorial.