Khambrel Marshall is coming
up next.
From KPRC. 2, this is Houston
newsmakers with Khambrel
Marshall.
>> Good morning. We begin today
one week ahead of Memorial Day
weekend. When we pass to honor
the men and women who have
given the ultimate sacrifice to
serve this country. It also
less than a week away from the
unveiling of a new tribute to
Vietnam veterans few weeks ago.
This is what that area looked
like. This Club Creek Park,
which only about 2 years old.
It is was in the process of
getting a very big addition
to honor Houston, Vietnam
veterans. It’s something he’s
in city Council member Edward
Pollard representing District J
has said he’s wanted to do
since he was elected and now is
close to becoming reality
council member Pollard joins
me now this morning to talk
about what led up to this
monument dedication. Good
morning to you. Good morning.
Thanks for the invitation.
What led to this? But my
father, he was a Marine who
served honorably in the Vietnam
War. And he told me about some
of the reception that he and
his fellow soldiers received
when they came back to Houston
and wasn’t a warm welcome.
And he told me that there was
nothing in the greater Houston
area that really reflected
their sacrifice, so to honor to
their service and that there
was no memorial that really
talked about what they went
through. And so that always
stood out to me. And I told him
if I ever was elected, I will
work to try to get a memorial.
They use proper fitting not to
just just to those who passed
away during the war, but to
tell the entire Houston story.
So the Turner’s is 20, I think,
is the group that took people
on the weather turns is explain
what that is and how they play
and how it’s played a role in
getting this done. So that hers
is an entity that collects
property taxes from people in a
particular area of the city.
They pulled those taxes and so
that it goes to improvements
just for that area. So instead
of going to the general fund
for the entire city to use,
it stays within a certain
geographical boundaries.
Turns 20 represents a lot of
the southwest Houston area and
we partner with them on this
particular project because they
were our way to getting a new
part, the club creek part, we
developed an having a new part
in our district. I thought this
would be the best place to put
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
And so they graciously accepted
the partnership and they’ve
done a lot of work to help it
become a reality. So he’s out
there a couple weeks ago to
look at that Clip. Creek Park.
Number one, it’s a very nice
little. An is still relatively
new as well. But if you look
at what’s going on, a nice
little vistas taking advantage
of where water runoff would be.
A whole fountains out there.
Talk about that park, which
really is not officially going
yet, but people still using
right now. Club Creek Park is
really a detention basin.
And we know about the the flood
issue that we have a southwest
Houston and so is is there to
mitigate those flood issues.
But we wanted to make it a
static Lee pleasing. So you’ll
see not only a basin that will
be a huge manmade pond.
Basically. But you have walking
trails all around it. New
landscaping. You have
playground equipment, exercise
equipment, but the highlight
in my opinion, will be this
Houston, Vietnam Veterans
Memorial. So what do you hope
what people will get from this
when they see this as so many
people as it relates to like
Memorial Day, for example,
there is just a holiday.
They don’t really spend time.
You know. Quiet time, giving
honor those who serve. What do
you hope people get from just
being there are other monuments
or other memorial places within
town as well. But you hope
people, you just hope they use
this for education is going to
give a complete story from the
Houston perspective, right?
Is going to touch on those who
serve and all branches is going
to have parts of it. They’re
really speak about the women of
the prisoners of war is going
to have a place that’s
dedicated to those who we lost.
There’s going to have a place
for those from the Vietnamese
community and what the war
meant to them. And so it’s
going to really be able to
capture the entire experience,
especially from Houston,
perspective. And so that’s what
we want people to go out there
and see and learn, but also
play pay tribute not only to
those who lost their loved, but
the many Vietnam veterans that
we have all in the greater
Houston area that will get to
come there, be able to look
at it, feel some sense of pride
and understand that we
appreciate their service.
So May 26 is the date of the
invading what’s planned for
that day. So May 26 11:00AM.
We will be at the Club Creek
Park for the unveiling. It’s
going to be a lot of pageantry
is going to be a lot of
celebration is going to go
hopefully above and beyond what
people expect. We want those
Vietnam veterans to know that
we appreciate everything that
they sacrificed. We wanted to
be a proper welcome home.
Many of them say when they
first came back from the
Vietnam War, they were met with
harsh critique. They were met
with criticism with disrespect.
They weren’t given a hero’s
welcome. Well on May, 26, they
will get a hero’s welcome.
2 sons of Vietnam veterans, I
think we can understand the
power of what that will mean.
Even for those who are no
longer here, their families
will be able to have some of
that. Yes, councilmember part
of thank you. Congratulations