Plans moving forward for $3M replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Citrus Heights

By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project is in the midst of raising funds in order to construct the West Coast’s first permanent 80-percent-scale replica of Washington D.C.’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

The monument is proposed to be constructed on the premises of Calvary Cemetery in Citrus Heights and will be visible from eastbound Interstate 80, according to Scott Miller, Chief Operating Officer with Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services, which owns Calvary Cemetery.

Miller said the wall will be the second of two roughly 80 percent replicas of the original wall located in Washington, DC. The first replica is located at the Missouri National Veterans Memorial in Perryville, Missouri.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. honors more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.

The replica wall in Citrus Heights will be constructed of India Black granite, and the names will be engraved, not etched, just as they are on the wall in Washington, DC. The memorial will also include a plaque provided by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund that recognizes the individuals who have lost their lives since the conflict due to their service in Vietnam.

The Citrus Heights Vietnam Memorial Project, a local nonprofit organization, is responsible for raising funds for construction and for an endowment for future maintenance of the memorial. Miller said several integral partnerships with companies and organizations have helped reduce the overall costs for the project, including partnerships with the Missouri National Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

History of project
The City Council adopted a strategic objective to “explore partnerships to support opportunities to bring a permanent Vietnam Veterans Memorial into the city” at a Strategic Planning meeting in March of 2024.

Following the meeting, Citrus Heights City Manager Ash Feeney approached Calvary Cemetery about the possibility of locating the monument on the grounds at the cemetery, given the large number of veterans that are already laid to rest there.

After gaining approval from the Calvary Funeral and Cemetery Services board, a nonprofit was created to help raise funds to build the permanent Vietnam Veteran Memorial. Representatives of the nonprofit, Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services, and Feeney visited Perryville, Missouri, to view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The visit included a meeting with one of the founders of the memorial, who also spearheaded the design and construction of the project.

“They have been very gracious to us,” Miller said of the Missouri National Veterans Memorial, adding that the founder has provided all the construction plans for the replica memorial wall to the nonprofit. Miller said having design and construction plans already created will save “a ton of money.”

Miller also reported that the Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project signed an agreement with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which allows the nonprofit full access to the architect record for the wall in D.C., along with access to the name files of veterans on the wall at no charge. Access to the name files represents a $50,000 savings, according to Miller.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is responsible for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., as well as the mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall that Heals, which came to Citrus Heights in 2023. The traveling “Wall That Heals,” a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial, along with a mobile Education Center, was temporarily set up at Rusch Community Park.

A city staff report says anticipated construction costs for the wall are estimated to exceed $3 million.

Current progress on permanent replica wall
In October, the nonprofit received $120,000 in donations and grant funding, which will go toward the first phase of the project, including a $100,000 donation from the Citrus Heights Rotary Foundation and $20,000 in grant funding from the Citrus Heights City Council. Miller said in October that the nonprofit is continuing fundraising efforts with the help of Stones Gambling Hall, and several other companies have offered services at no charge, such as website design and press release distribution services.

Miller was not able to be reached for comment before press time for an update on current funds raised after Oct. 23. Donations are currently accepted through the nonprofit’s website at chvmp.org but no total amount of donations is listed on the site.

“Years from now, when we’re all gone, that structure will still be here honoring those individuals and reminding people of what true American heroes are all about,” Paul Reyes with American Legion Post 637 said of the project during an Oct. 23 City Council meeting. Reyes previously spearheaded bringing the mobile Veterans Memorial Wall That Heals to Citrus Heights. Reyes is also on the board of the Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project nonprofit.

The City Council also unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Citrus Heights, Catholic Funeral & Cemetery Services of the Diocese of Sacramento, Inc., and the Citrus Heights Veterans Memorial Project on Oct. 23.

The city’s participation through the MOU includes waiving fees and accelerated processing of plans and inspections, according to Feeney, as well as making formal requests to partner agencies to do the same.

A tentative timeline shared with the City Council last month lists completion of design work by Nov. 29, followed by construction drawings completed by Jan. 31, and plan review and permitting completed by April 30, 2025. Construction would commence once fundraising is completed.

Those interested in donating to the project can visit the dedicated website here.