Debate about war monument could just be Little Saigon politics as usual Battle of Quang Tri, a win for South Vietnamese military, is topic of new fight in Westminster.

Sid Goldstein Freedom Park in Westminster, CA, is home to several Vietnam War memorials. 

A new monument is planned that will honor the 1972 battle of Quang Tri, in which South Vietnamese troops defeated North Vietnamese forces with the help of U.S. air power. The monument has become disputed, with veterans saying they were left out of its planning. 

(Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

By SUSAN CHRISTIAN GOULDING |  

sgoulding@scng.com | Orange County Register

PUBLISHED:  July 9, 2021 at 6:08 p.m. | 

Over Fourth of July weekend, a festooned truck cruised the streets of Little Saigon. 

But rather than holiday-themed red, white and blue streamers the van displayed grainy photographs of three members of the Westminster City Council – their large, unsmiling images reminiscent of mugshots.

The trio had recently voted to postpone the installation of a war memorial at Westminster’s Sid Goldstein Freedom Park. The monument — the fourth in the park — would pay tribute to the 1972 Battle of Quang Tri, in which South Vietnamese soldiers reclaimed a province taken by North Vietnam a few months prior.

Last December, council members unanimously approved the monument. But what then seemed like an unobjectionable remembrance of a courageous victory by the South Vietnamese is now at the center of acrimony and accusations.

Council members Tai Do, Kimberly Ho and Carlos Manzo say the nonprofit created to oversee construction of the monument has not been transparent – failing to invite veterans to the table.