Vietnam War Veterans Memorial planned for Lake Charles
Published 12:30 pm Tuesday, October 10, 2023
A statue of First Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet at Veterans Memorial Park in Lake Charles. Fournet was posthumously presented the Medal of Honor for his actions May 4, 1968, during the Vietnam War. Fournet used his body as a shield in front of a mine. When it detonated it killed him instantly. His heroic actions spared his men serious injury or death, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor citation. Fournet was from Kinder and attended McNeese. The Mayor’s Armed Forces Commission is starting a project to refurbish Veterans Memorial Park. (Rita LeBleu / American Press)
The space that was home to the UH-1 ‘Huey’ helicopter would be the site for the new Vietnam War Veterans Memorial. (Rita LeBleu / American Press)
The Mayor’s Armed Forces Commission is starting a project to refurbish Veterans Memorial Park. (Rita LeBleu / American Press)
By this time next year, Lake Charles Veterans Park could be home to the only Louisiana Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in the state. Mayor Nic Hunter unveiled plans at the Monday Mayor’s Armed Forces Commission meeting that include refurbishing the park.
Hunter called the plans for the three-sided monument with Louisiana Vietnam Veterans names inscribed “very timely and very needed and hopefully something that the community will rally to support” in a strategic site set to see more visitors as Lakefront projects Port Wonder, Crying Eagle and a continuous, connecting boardwalk are completed.
This meeting marked the first public discussion of plans for a permanent placement for the area that formerly housed the UH-1 “Huey ‘’ helicopter that was retired after Hurricane Laura and Delta rendered the Vietnam-era chopper irreparable.
Louisiana Veterans Affairs Secretary Joey Strickland was at the meeting, and said a park in Baton Rouge was recently refurbished to honor veterans, and his next addition to that park was going to be a Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but with Legislature approval, expected the first quarter of next year, he said he would do what he could to ensure that honor goes to Lake Charles.’
“As a two-tour Vietnam combat veteran, I am in total support of this effort, particularly given that Louisiana’s only Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient Douglas Fournet comes from the Lake Charles area. Lake Charles has a well-documented history of supporting our military and veterans dating back to the World War II era, Strickland said. I am deeply honored to be a part of these plans to honor all of Louisiana’s 85,000 Vietnam Veterans and their families for generations to come.
“Our Veterans Memorial Park offers a quiet place for the reflection of those who have served and continue to serve, and a place for civilians to offer thanks and remembrances,” Hunter said. “Though recent natural disasters took their toll on Veterans Memorial Park, we are not looking at this as an opportunity to reimagine the space to be even more distinct. All our veterans deserve honor and thanks for the community, and this is especially true of our Vietnam War Veterans.”
The construction of the Memorial is currently dependent on passage of LC REBOUND, a tax neutral ballot proposition on the Nov. 18 ballot.
