By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city’s annual Veterans Day tribute in Bradley Point Park on Nov. 11 also included the dedication of two panels at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the kickoff of the latest installment of the West Haven Veterans Council’s Brick Campaign.
After Marine Corps veterans Rick Foley and Howie Thomas, members of West Haven Vietnam Veterans Inc., laid a wreath at the base of the William A. Soderman Memorial on the Veterans Walk of Honor, Mayor Dorinda Borer led the bundled-up crowd to the nearby Vietnam memorial, where she dedicated the granite panels, a project shepherded by West Haven Vietnam Veterans.
“This expansion project is born from a simple but powerful principle: that every veteran who served deserves to be recognized,” Borer said. “Thanks to the tireless work of our West Haven Vietnam Veterans organization, we have etched 35 more names into this hallowed stone.”
“(This memorial) is a long-lasting tribute to veterans everywhere,” said Veterans Council President Dave Ricci, the president of West Haven Vietnam Veterans.
In June 2023, the West Haven Vietnam Memorial Inc. Committee launched a campaign to recognize additional current and former city residents who served in-country during the Vietnam War by inscribing their names on the new panels.
“The newly engraved names on these panels are a beacon of our city’s promise that their legacy will endure for generations to come,” said Borer, who pointed out that the city is working to declare Bradley Point as a federally historic landmark.
City Clerk John W. Lewis served as the master of ceremonies for the bitter cold dedication, which also included remarks by Ricci, a Marine Corps veteran, and West Haven Vietnam Veterans Treasurer Steve Carney, an Army vet.
Carney thanked Borer, retired city Human Resources Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, who is now a volunteer in the mayor’s office, and former Mayor Nancy R. Rossi for supporting the addition of the panels, paid for by American Rescue Plan Act funds. He also thanked the memorial committee, the construction team and his son, West Haven ARPA Committee Chairman Ken Carney, who oversaw the project from conception to completion.
The absolute black granite panels, which bookend the memorial, were installed by project coordinator Milestone Construction Services LLC of New Haven, which also prepared the site. The panels were procured by Connecticut Stone of Milford, and the inscriptions were crafted by the memorial’s original engraver, Shelley Bros. Monuments of Guilford.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial features a black granite wall inscribed with the names of those from West Haven who served or gave their lives in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975, along with three white flagpoles draped with the American, Connecticut and prisoner-of-war flags.
The memorial, dedicated Nov. 12, 2003, also includes a black granite map of the four battle districts of Vietnam bearing the inscription “All Gave Some, Some Gave All,” as well as five bronze insignia markers atop black granite posts representing each branch of the U.S. armed forces.
The Veterans Day event concluded with a closing prayer by the Rev. Paul Bronson, the outreach pastor of Vertical Church of West Haven, and taps played by West Haven’s Art Gilbert.
To coincide with the solemn ceremony, the Veterans Council kicked off Phase 18 of its popular Brick Campaign.
In November 2006, the council began the first of 18 campaigns selling bricks to memorialize veterans on the 100-yard Walk of Honor between the Soderman and Vietnam memorials.
The bricks, which cost $75, have charcoal lettering for personalized messages.
About 3,100 bricks have been installed to date, including 72 for Phase 17, which was dedicated May 24.
Applications are due March 13, 2026, and are available at https://www.cityofwesthaven.com/DocumentCenter/View/7814/Veterans-Brick-Campaign-Application-2026-PDF and in the mayor’s office at City Hall, 355 Main St. For details, call 203-937-3510.