As an artist and Vietnam veteran, Ric Delugo, envisioned a memorial consisting of 58,000 trees, each representing an American veteran killed in the Vietnam War.
Delugo wanted to include nine large metal sculptures, so he tracked down veteran friend and artist, Dennis Smith. In 1988, Smith arrived in Siskiyou County, Calif., with $6 in his pocket. Another friend, John Sutter, sought U.S. Forest Service interest and approval for the project.
Today, the Veterans Living Memorial Sculpture Garden is located on the northwestern slope of Mount Shasta, along Hwy 97 and 13 miles north of Weed, Calif.
The Forest Service provided 90,000 trees for planting by volunteers and expanded the original vision “to include a broader understanding of war and its effects upon all human beings caught up in the process.”
The sculptured figures include a flute player, prisoner of war, the missing-in-action, nurses, “those left behind” and those “coming home.” A memorial wall was dedicated in May1994. Two memorial services are held each year, one on Memorial Day and one on Veterans’ Day.
New names are added annually.
Source: Living Memorial Sculpture Garden, www.weedlmsg.org. Accessed 9 Sept. 2018.
