Reporter staff

The City of Auburn/American-Vietnamese War Memorial Alliance hosts a groundbreaking ceremony at noon Sunday, March 11 for its Vietnam War memorial at Les Gove Park, 910 9th St. SE.

Vietnam veterans and family are invited.

Mayor Nancy Backus and Alfie Alvarado Ramos, director of the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, and other guests will speak at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Construction of the memorial is scheduled to begin March 12. The alliance hopes to complete construction and hold a dedication ceremony on or around Memorial Day (May 28).

According to alliance leaders, the memorial design features a Wall of Honor on the back side of a circular plaza, 50 feet in diameter. In the center of the Wall of Honor will be a Vietnam veteran insignia (yellow, red, and green), inscriptions and the image of a soldier engraved in granite panels.

Also, along the wall will be two panels displaying names and the insignia of U.S. and South Vietnamese branches of military service.

The Wall of Honor will display up to 1,000 individual engraved granite tiles honoring Vietnam veterans, living and dead. People can still order an Honor Tile for a Vietnam veteran with a donation of $100.

The alliance is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization. For more information or to donate, call 360-357-7684, email contact@honorvietnamvets.org, or visit honorvietnamvets.org.