Between 1967 and 1974, fourteen Arcadia servicemen were killed in hostile actions while fighting a war in Vietnam. In their honor and in tribute to all living Vietnam veterans, construction of an Arcadia Vietnam War Monument has been proposed to Los Angeles County officials for installation in the Arcadia County Park by late May 2016.
The Arcadia Vietnam War Monument project is a vision Gene Glasco, the monument’s founder, Vietnam veteran and Arcadia City Clerk has had for many years. One of Glasco’s high school classmates, Eugene Hicks, was an Army Infantryman who began his tour of duty in Vietnam on Dec. 3, 1967. A little more than one month later he was killed in action on Jan. 16, 1968. “I returned home from Vietnam but Gene didn’t,” Glasco said. “Building a monument in his honor is the least I can do for Gene and fellow Arcadians that lost their lives in South Vietnam.”
This project has received the endorsement of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who himself served in the U.S. Army Reserves for eight years and is very supportive of veterans causes. Every May, Antonovich hosts a very popular Salute To Veterans event in the Arcadia County Park. ”If the approval process goes smoothly and we are able to raise the $50,000 needed to complete this worthy project,” said Glasco. “It’s possible that we may be able to finish construction and dedicate the monument on May 28, 2016, the same day as Supervisor Antonovich’s Salute To Veterans event, which always has attracted large crowds of veterans and their families from all over Southern California to the Arcadia County Park.”
Donations for the Arcadia Vietnam War Monument can be made to the Arcadia Elks Lodge, 27 W. Huntington Dr., Arcadia, CA 91007 or by credit card by visiting the monument website at www.ArcadiaVietnamMonument.org/contribute.
