KY Vietnam Memorial

Helm Roberts
Architect/Planner
360 New Street
Lexington, KY 40507
Phone: 859-389-8165
Fax: 859-255-6544
E-mail Address:
hr@helmr.com

Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Frankfort, KY
Winter Solstice - 1970	Sponsor: Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc. The Concept The design concept is in the form of a large sundial. The stainless steel gnomon casts its shadow upon a granite plaza. The names of 1,103 Kentuckians lost in the war are engraved into the plaza, including 23 missing in action. Each name is placed so that the tip of the shadow touches his name on the anniversary of his death, thus giving each fallen veteran his own personal Memorial Day. The location of each name is fixed mathematically…by the date of casualty, the geographic location of the memorial, the height of the gnomon and the physics of solar movement. The stones were then designed and cut to avoid dividing any individual name. The resulting radial-concentric joint pattern suggests a "web", symbolic of the entangling nature of this war. Summer Solstice - 1968
	The Many Roles of the Memorial A Place of Remembrance Alone, as families, and in small groups they come to pay respects to those individuals who gave their life in service to America. A Place of Ceremony Each year the memorial observes Memorial Day, Veterans Day and the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally of veterans in the "run for the wall".
	A Place of Healing At most of the regular ceremonies and at a special, closed, weekend reunion in May, "LZ Bluegrass", veterans gather to relive their experiences, and to give recognition and comfort to each other. A Place for History The pattern of names provides a graphic history of the duration and intensity of the war…its beginning, its most intense action and its final conclusion, thus providing a lasting chronology of the Vietnam war, engraved in stone.. A Place for Learning The memorial is now included on most visits to Frankfort by Kentucky school children, providing them a history lesson about the Vietnam war. It also provides a challenging example of the value of understanding mathematics, science and physics. Official Website: www.kyvietnammemorial.net
Photo: adam@adamjonesphoto.com

Architectural Drawings of the Memorial Download *"AutoDesk Design Review" Driver* to view. Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation Plan Gnomon Details Site Plan (Right Click File Name---Save Target As.... View using AutoDesk Express Viewer)