Vietnam Veterans Memorial restored after years of neglect caused more than 100 names to fade

In 2006, the $4.3 million Vietnam Veterans Memorial that serves as the centerpiece of Chicago’s Downtown Riverwalk was plastered with graffiti scribbled in shoe polish.

Stone restoration and preservation consultants were called in to remove all traces of the vandalism.

Now, the spectacular memorial featuring the engraved names of all 2,936 Illinois soldiers killed in Vietnam has been restored after noncriminal, less sinister damage.

Some names and inscriptions on the memorial had faded and become difficult for friends and relatives to read after, what the city calls “years of deferred maintenance.”

On Wednesday, Mayor Brandon joined Kevin Barszcz, director the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs, in announcing the restoration after the work was complete. The restored memorial will be the site of Chicago’s official observance of Vietnam Veterans Day at 11 a.m. Friday. The memorial is between Wabash Avenue and State Street.

Barszcz told the Sun-Times he was alerted to the dire need by a local Vietnam veteran. Barszcz said he hung up the phone and went right out to the Riverwalk to see for himself.

“There were at least a hundred, maybe a little more, names that were faded away. And due to the elements outside, it was very difficult to see some of these names,” Barszcz said.

“Him being a Vietnam veteran, it really meant a lot to him,” Barszcz said of the vet who sounded the alarm. “He was speaking from the heart. ... My father also served in Vietnam. ... He was in the Navy. So I know what this means to so many people as well as the family members. … Having to lose a family member due to war, and now, losing their name on the wall — I know that’s very difficult.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The repairs were bankrolled by the city’s Department of Fleet and Facilities Management, though Barszcz could not say how much it cost. Still, he made it clear that the neglect will not be repeated.

“They have this on a regular schedule. They have a regular cleaning program now. They also have a company that’s gonna go out there and inspect it every year. And if it needs to get updated, they’ll update it at that time,” he said.

Former 11th Ward Ald. Jim Balcer, a decorated Vietnam veteran, championed veterans issues many times during and after his 18-year career in the City Council.

Balcer was wounded three times, still suffers from PTSD and belatedly received a Bronze Star for his three years of service in Vietnam.

He said he will never forget how emotional he was on June 13, 1986, when Chicago finally got around to holding a cathartic parade to welcome him and other Vietnam War veterans home 11 years after the war that divided the nation had ended. More than 200,000 veterans marched before an estimated 500,000 cheering spectators.

Balcer applauded Barszcz for restoring the Riverwalk memorial that means so much to veterans such as himself.

“We told him, ‘Take a look at it. It needs repair.’ He jumped right on it,” Balcer said.

“It’s the right thing to do to invest in it, keep it clean, keep it updated, keep it nice and respectable. The families deserve it,” he said.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), a Marine Corps vet now serving as veterans’ advocate in the Council, said he’s not surprised years of neglect allowed some names to fade.

“It’s ridiculous. It just really demonstrates that we don’t put enough thought into deferred maintenance. The city builds things, but doesn’t really take into account” what upkeep will cost, Villegas said.

“It’s a shame that we would have a veterans memorial to Chicagoans who have … made the ultimate sacrifice, [then] have their names faded away,” he said. “Our job as a Veterans Caucus is to make sure those names don’t fade away and that every veteran isn’t forgotten. ”

Michelle Woods helps manage the Riverwalk as deputy commissioner of Fleet and Facilities Management. She was there in 2005 when the memorial was dedicated.

“I witnessed the profound impact it had on those in attendance, many of whom had personal connection to the names inscribed on the wall,” Woods was quoted as saying.

When first approached about the restoration, Woods said she “knew it would be a challenge,” but she’s proud that city officials “figured out a way to get it done.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times