Vietnam Veterans Memorial

By Edith Cherry and James See – September 17, 2020

Address: 34 Country Club Rd., Angel Fire, NM 87710
Access: 575-377-6900 | Website         

On a hill at the edge of the Moreno Valley in northern New Mexico, two curved, white
planes soar toward the sky. The place where the surfaces almost meet houses the
Peace and Brotherhood Chapel, the major feature of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Dr. and Ms. Victor Westphall built the Chapel in memory of their son, David, who was
killed in Vietnam in 1968.

As the number of visitors to the Chapel grew, a Museum/Visitor Center/Gift Shop was
added. The new space was designed underground so as not to detract from the
sculptural form of the Chapel. Later, an Amphitheater was built on axis with the Chapel
to accommodate outdoor services. The grounds also include the Veterans Memorial
Walkway lined with bricks engraved with names of veterans. At the base of the hill, a
Veterans Cemetery completes the Memorial with a view of the beautiful Moreno Valley in
the distance.

Memorial Concept: Dr. Victor Westphall
Chapel Completed: 1971
Architect: Ted Luna, AIA
Contractor: George Vedeler and Volunteers

Museum/Visitor Center/Gift Shop: Completed 1986
Architect: George Montgomery, Albuquerque, NM
Architect Design Consultant: Glaser & Myers of Ohio
Exhibit and Graphic Designer: Schenker, Probst & Barensfeld
Contractor: seeking info*

Renovation Completed: 2010
Architect: Architectural Alliance, Santa Fe, NM
Exhibit Designer Consultants: Taylor Studios, Inc., Illinois
Contractor: seeking info*

Amphitheater Completed: 2005
Architect: seeking info*
Contractor: seeking info*
Veterans Cemetery Completed: 2020
Architect: Huitt-Zollars     
Contractor: White Sands Construction

Landscape Architect: MRWM Landscape Architects https://www.mrwmla.com
Landscape Contractor: seeking info*

Awards:
New Mexico Architectural Foundation 2020 Architecture + Community Awards 

Learn More:
History of the Memorial 
2020 Trout, Steven, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Angel Fire: War,
Remembrance and an American Tragedy, University Press of Kansas.

9/17/20