The Auburn City Council will decide Monday whether to approve the proposed construction of a joint American/Vietnamese war memorial at Veterans Memorial Park.

The monument will honor not only American veterans of the Vietnam War but also acknowledge and remember the sacrifices South Vietnamese soldiers made fighting alongside their allies.

Initial plans for the memorial calls for a bronze statue of an American soldier and nurse helping a wounded Vietnamese soldier, flanked by American and South Vietnamese flags.

According to proponents of the memorial, the intent is to remember those who fought and sacrificed fighting for freedom in Vietnam and to provide an avenue for education and healing for those who still bear the physical, emotional and mental scars of the war four decades later.

That’s why it is mind-boggling that there is any opposition to its construction, especially in Auburn, with its rich tradition of honoring veterans.

Most of the controversy seems to center on the shared nature of the monument. It’s an opposition that comes as no surprise to those who fought to erect similar monuments in Arlington and Houston, Texas, as well as in Westminster, Calif.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Craig H. Mandeville served as executive director of the Westminister Vietnam War Memorial Committee.

For seven years, Mandeville – a decorated Vietnam veteran who served two tours of duty, receiving two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars and three Purple Heart medals – led the planning and construction of the memorial, which is similar in purpose and scope to the proposed Auburn monument.

In an email sent to Senior Vice Commander Mike Sepol of Auburn’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1741, Mandeville wrote about the resistance he encountered working on his city’s memorial, which was unveiled in April 2003.

“Persons who protest must keep in mind that the war is over. We are not talking about saying the war is right or wrong, whether the Vietnamese fought or did not fight, whether they are good citizens here or not,” Mandeville wrote.

According to Mandeville, who worked closely with the Republic of South Vietnam Army as an advisor during the war, much of the opposition to such joint American/Vietnamese memorials comes from the low opinion many American soldiers held for their Vietnamese counterparts.

“I hated the (South Vietnam Army) from my first tour with the 101st Airborne (1967-68),” Mandeville wrote. “I was a battery commander and my unit was overrun. We found out that the local militia who was providing our security had let them in.”

During his second tour in 1972 as a regimental advisor, Mandeville said his opinion changed.

“I witnessed how they had looked at the war and saw first hand that they could and would fight as well, or better, than the U.S. Had I not had that tour, I would feel like many Vietnam vets feel about (them).”

Mandeville said he feels a monument in Auburn will provide local vets, American and Vietnamese, and their families a place to heal, much as the memorial in Westminster did.

“The end product will provide closure for the majority of those opposed, but more importantly, it will provide our vets a welcome home,” he wrote. “And for those who were killed, it ensures they will not be forgotten and help keep the focus on the (prisoners of war and missing in action).

“… For the Vietnamese, it protects their flag, which they lost when their country was lost,” he added. “We cannot ever feel the same as they do. They lost their country, something, thank God, we have never had to face. It is important to try to appreciate that loss and we can help ease that pain when we have the flag of free Vietnam flying for them to see.”