Vietnam Veterans Memorial Makes Move to Fort Chambers Park

The Franklin County Commissioners funded moving the Vietnam Veterans Memorial monument to protect it during the upcoming Court Facility Improvement Project demolition scheduled for November. With the help of Shull-Koontz Memorials, the monument was lifted from the Courthouse plaza this morning and moved across the street to Fort Chambers Park.

“We’ve been proud to host the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Courthouse plaza for the last 30 years and want to ensure its safe relocation to Fort Chambers Park,” said Commissioner Chairman Dave Keller.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial monument has been a feature on the Courthouse plaza since its dedication in 1988. Consideration was given to returning the memorial to its primary location on the plaza, but William Vandrew and Paul Cullinane Jr., veterans of the Vietnam War, did not want it stored for the duration of construction. Instead, the monument is being relocated to Fort Chambers Park to be honored alongside memorials for Veterans of WWII and the Korean War.

The memorial lists 32 names of Franklin County soldiers who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

“We feel that it is appropriate to move the Vietnam Memorial to the Fort Chambers Park for its final resting place beside our comrades from WWII and the Korean War. We would like to thank the Franklin County Commissioners and their staff, the Borough of Chambersburg and their personnel, and Shull-Koontz Memorials for making this transition possible,” reads a statement from Mr. Cullinane and Mr. Vandrew.

A rededication of the memorial is planned for Spring.

Shull-Koontz Memorials prepares to load the monument onto a truck on the Courthouse plaza.

The memorial site is prepared and the monument is ready to be placed in Fort Chambers Park.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is placed in its new location in Fort Chambers Park.

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