Vietnam War veterans didn’t receive a warm welcome after returning home in 1973, and many people despised and blamed them for the war itself. Since then, the United States has made tremendous efforts to commemorate these veterans through monuments, honor flights, and other services. The Town of Wallkill continued this remembrance April 30 and unveiled its Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall, a three-decade project dedicated to heroes local and afar.

Before 1995, the Wallkill Veterans Memorial Park between Highland Avenue and Sand Station Road was nothing more than an overgrown and dirty space. This completely changed once the town sought a memorial park, and with the help of Vietnam Veteran Mike Cody and his committee, the park gradually became a reality and displayed several monuments.
“The town needed a town park with the idea that it’d be made into a memorial park,” said Councilman Mark Coyne. “Mike wanted a park that would honor all American soldiers who fought, provided, and maintained our freedom.”

“The first piece that was put in this park was one of the sections of the wall behind us; that was 1998 at the time. Since then, Mike Cody and his crew have added many monuments: World War I, World War II, Korean War, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the American Soldier, and a 9/11 Memorial,” Coyne continued. “The latest edition was a monument created by David Hoagland for his Eagle Scout project to honor all first responder dogs.”

The park’s biggest project by far was the Vietnam Memorial Wall, costing over $350,000 with each section costing between $5,000 to $20,000. The wall’s committee spent years raising money however it can, including selling t-shirts. In 2022, Assemblywoman Alieen Gunther and Senator James Skoufis joined the caused and paid the remaining costs.

“It was two Memorials Days ago, Councilman Mark Coyne came up to me after the event here in the Town of Wallkill. Afterwards, we’re just chit chatting,” Skoufis said. “(I asked) ‘What are you doing after this event?’ And he mentioned ‘I’m going to sell t-shirts to raise $175,000 for the Vietnam Memorial Wall.”

“I’m thinking to myself ‘This guy is going to be dead and I’m going to be a senior citizen by the time he sells enough t-shirts,’” Skoufis continued. “And so Assemblywoman Gunther and I decided we had to get to work, that’s where we came in. And we filled in the rest of that gap.”

“I’d like to commend the efforts of Mike Cody and the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall Committee for pursuing this 30-year-old project through,” Gunther said. “Their dedication is a steadfast example of civic engagement and a call for all of us to remember and honor the heroes of our country.”

The committee’s efforts culminated in a beautiful, black granite wall in the park’s center, listing Wallkill’s surviving and deceased Vietnam veterans. The wall’s ceremony opened with taps from the U.S. Color Guard, followed by the National Anthem sung by Emily Reed and a prayer from Albert Feliciano of Sole Purpose Evangelical Church. After Coyne’s opening, Cody handed a plaque to Louis J. Ingrassia Jr., Wallkill’s commissioner of public works and chairman of the Hudson Valley Honor Flights, commemorating his help with making the wall a reality.

“I’ve had the distinct honor to work for the town for the past 38 years; 30 of those years I worked side-by-side with Mike Cody. Mike Cody’s an amazing human being,” Ingrassia said. “At the end of the day, all the accolades that we share, we share collectively with the Town of Wallkill.”

Throughout the ceremony, several local and state officials thanked everyone involved in the project and expressed how proud they were of the newly erected wall.

“The 18, 19, 20-year-olds who never got a chance to fall in love or live their lives, their names are here. The people that survived, we’re talking about them as well,” said Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus. “It’s a great day to celebrate. I’m so proud of the Town of Wallkill and so proud to be part of the ceremony today.”

“It’s an honor and privilege to be here today as we dedicate this Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, 30 years in the making,” said Supervisor George Serrano. “To me, that’s too long. Thank you for not giving up on this war.”
“Most people that memorialize veterans have either lost of veteran or knew a veteran, but I am not a veteran,” said Rachel Carr, treasurer of the wall’s committee. “No one in my family has served, I haven’t had a loved one that was a veteran. But this cause is near and dear to my heart.”

Harry Nulty, a Vietnam veteran, provided statistics for the Vietnam War, emphasizing that the casualities are more than just numbers but people who sacrificed themselves for the greater good of the nation.

“Most deaths for a single day was on January 1, 1968, 245 deaths. Not too far from Tet (Offensive),” Nulty said. “The most deaths for a single month was May 1969, 2,415 casualties occurred.”

“For most Americans who hear this, they will only hear the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those who survived the war and to the families of those who did not, they see the faces,” Nulty continued. “They were friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.”

Later on, Ron Orts of Rolling Thunder Chapter 3 gave Cody a plaque for his military service and commitment to finishing the memorial wall. The ceremony concluded with a ribbon cutting by Cody, with all the Vietnam veterans gathering behind the ribbon. Both Coyne and Cody also encouraged the Vietnam veterans, especially those not from Wallkill, to write their names on the wall.

“It’s for the veterans; it’s not my park, it’s your park, it’s all for you. So put your name on the wall,” Cody said. There’s lots of room to have your names put on the wall. You don’t have to live in the Town of Wallkill to have your name put on the wall.”