Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
Debby Maynard of the Los Altos Parks and Recreation Department and a Vietnam vet, holds a photo of herself in uniform at a proposed site of a veterans memorial at Shoup Park.
Town Crier Staff Writer
When Debby Maynard arrived in Vietnam in 1968 with the Army Special Services, she was the youngest American woman to serve there.
She was one of six women in a division of 20,000 men.
She's been to the "wall," the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C. There are seven names on the wall of people she knew well and "probably 100s I might have met."
That's why this Los Altos resident, Vietnam War veteran and staff member of the Los Altos Parks and Recreation Department, beams when she talks about her assignment as city staff liaison to the committee working on the proposed veterans' memorial for Los Altos.
"I'm excited about the project," she said. They're (committee members) interested in honoring all who served, civilians too. There are a lot in this area who've given a lot to their country. It is nice to recognize that."
City council members, at their Jan. 28 meeting, approved the concept of a local veterans' memorial that is sponsored by the Veterans Memorial Association of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
The project "fills a void in the community," said Los Altos Mayor Francis La Poll. "It's commendable. We like the idea of a tribute to those who have served in the armed forces, and we are willing to make a place for it on city property."
The next question is, where on city property such a memorial might go.
"Our heart's desire is Shoup Park," said Jay Brandon, Los Altos resident and co-chairman with Bill Henderson of the project. "But we're open to other suggestions."
Six members of the Veterans Memorial Association formed a site selection committee and have visited 14 sites in the area. They like a grassy knoll in Shoup Park.
"Staff is not prepared to say where it will be," Maynard said, pointing out that the city council will make the final selection. "There are several sites in the park (Shoup) it might be and several sites in town."
At their Feb. 19 meeting members of the city's Parks and Recreation Committee will review sites and make a recommendation to the city council.
Council members will vote on a location at their Feb. 25 meeting.
Veterans Memorial Association members are proceeding with requesting qualifications from 100 artists for designing the memorial and with raising the estimated $100,000 to fund the project.
Henderson said the Association members envision a "tranquil spot where parents and children may visit, where thoughtful people can contemplate." He said their goal is a memorial that speaks to "freedom, democracy and devotion to duty."
A blue-ribbon list of veterans are serving on the honorary committee for the project. They include: Adm. James Stockdale who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for seven years; George P. Schultz, a former secretary of state and current fellow of the Hoover Institution; and Audrey Fisher, first woman mayor of Los Altos and member of the Army Nurse Corps.
The committee hopes to dedicate the memorial July 4, 1998.