VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL AT STONEY RUN COUNTY
PARK
Visitors to Stoney Run County Park see the flags
of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as they drive into the park. This
salute to veterans had its beginnings in 1973 when three large
boulders were put in place by Marine Company A, 6th Engineer
Battalion of Gary in Stoney Run County Park. The memorial began as
one family’s effort to honor the memory of their son and others
like him. David M. Baum was one of the 261 young people from Lake
County and one of more than 58,000 from across the United States
who gave their lives for our country while serving in Vietnam.
David’s death brought cards and letters of sympathy to his parents
and brother, John, also a veteran during the Vietnam conflict.
Sometime later, distraught over the treatment afforded most of the
returning Vietnam Veterans, Mr. And Mrs. Henry Baum of Crown Point
established the David M. Baum Memorial Fund. Community support
provided additional funds, materials, and labor leading to the
dedication of the memorial.
For a long time, however, plans to complete the
memorial went unfulfilled. The Vietnam War continued to be a
painful, controversial issue, and support for a tribute to its
veterans waned. Then early in 1982 several Vietnam Veterans, along
with Lake County Park and Recreation Department staff members,
coordinated efforts with the Vietnam Veterans Leadership program of
Indiana to sponsor a Memorial Day service and family picnic at the
park.
Shortly after that initial joint effort, the VVLP
of Indiana welcomed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee as part
of its organization. Again, donations of funds, materials, and
labor made Phase I of the memorial beautification possible.
Countless hours of donated services from individuals and groups
went into the memorial development.
By Memorial Day 1984, 8,000 face bricks and 80
yards of concrete had been laid, forming a low wall topped with 460
feet of limestone and encircling the memorial. Hundreds of Vietnam
Veterans stood in the rain at a very moving dedication service. It
was a new beginning. Phase II added a new face to the memorial’s
south side with the construction of two wing walls. The other walls
were raised and 14,000 paving bricks were laid in place. New
landscaping was planted and the memorial was again ready for the
1986 Memorial Day service
Early in 1989 it was decided that the memorial
would not be complete without the permanent inclusion of the 261
names of the Lake County servicemen who sacrificed their lives
during the Vietnam War so that project was begun. On August 28,
1989, the Lake County Commissioners signed a proclamation declaring
the memorial at Stoney Run County Park the official Lake County
Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Phase III was the addition of the names in
granite and the replacement of the single flagpole with three new
flagpoles. This phase took two years to complete with the official
dedication taking place on May 4, 1991. As noted at the memorial,
the black granite plaques listing the names of those who died
during the conflict, not only quantifies, but personalizes, Lake
County’s sacrifice for the Price of Freedom.
As 1999 approached, the memorial walkways and
walls were in need of repair and the committee thought it was time
to show unity and appreciation for all veterans. A grant was
secured through the Lake County Parks from the state of Indiana to
redesign the walkways. Construction began again and on Veterans
Day, 1999, the VVMC fulfilled another goal as they dedicated a
second monument
Vietnam Veterans Memorial –You are lookoing
for a micro container hidden near the memorial.
