Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument (Austin, Texas)
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Raven
N 30° 16.534 W 097° 44.342
14R E 621285 N 3349994
Located on the grounds of Austin's State Capitol, the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument is a memorial honoring the men and women of Texas who served in the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War.
Waymark Code: WMMH2K
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/20/2014
Views: 4
The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument is located on the northeastern end of Austin's State Capitol grounds and was dedicated on March 29, 2014. Designed by New Mexico artist Duke Sundt (with the sculpting assistance of Clint Howard and Jake Jakovich), it is a tribute to all the men and women of Texas who served in the US Armed Forces during the Vietnam War as well as a permanent memorial to the 3,417 Texans who died in that conflict.
The 14-foot tall memorial was founded by the State of Texas with both public and private funds and is part of the "3417 Project", a project which individually honors each Texan who died in that war.
The actual bronze monument rests on a pediment of concrete and Texas Red Sunset granite. It consists of five figures each 1.25 times life size representing the diversity of Texans that served in the war: the Grunt (an Anglo-American); the Radioman (a Native American); the Scout Sniper (a Hispanic American); the Medic (a Black American); and the Wounded Soldier (an Asian-American). Below the figures are six bas relief panels each representing the military forces used in Vietnam. Two additional bas relief panels are included at the base: one depicting the Vietnamese people, and the front bas relief with the Seal of Texas sided by two Vietnamese dragons.
Entombed inside the monument are personalized dog tags honoring each of the 3,417 Texans who died or are unaccounted for in Vietnam. They include the person's name, rank, branch of service, date of loss and home of record. Every tag was hand stamped, letter by letter, on the same kind machine that was used to make their dog tags during the war.
A plaque by the monument reads:
"The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument -- Honoring the men and women who served with courage and dignity in the Armed Forces of the United States of America during the Vietnam War. Entombed herein are the names of the 3,417 Texans who gave their lives so that others might be free. -- Welcome home. -- Presented to the people of Texas -- By the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee -- March 29, 2014"
The memorial is also one of the first of its kind to include a QR code. As clarified by the monument's official website (see below):
"Simply scan the QR code located on the monument plaque and allow us to be your virtual tour guide through every figure and panel on the monument using our mobile web app. The mobile tour has been specifically designed for mobile devices and tablets and includes audio-video explanations of each design element as well as first-person accounts by those who lived it. You can choose to be guided through each figure and panel in a linear fashion, or if you prefer, you can skip to individual panels or figures at your own pace."
More information on the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument can be found on its official website: (
visit link)