A Vietnam War memorial in Southern California, plagued by fraud and political scandal nearly from the start, will be demolished, according to local officials.
Plans for the memorial in Orange County were unveiled in 2023 to honor Vietnamese troops that worked alongside U.S. forces in Vietnam. Orange County, a mostly affluent region of California, features the largest number of Vietnamese Americans in the country.
Andrew Do, the embattled former Orange County Supervisor, created the project, designating $1 million from local taxpayers to a nonprofit called the Viet America Society. However, an investigation showed that Do was siphoning money from the organization for personal use. Do faced prosecution on conspiracy charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.
While Do faced legal woes, the Vietnam memorial sat idle, wilting in the Southern California sun. The project was taken over by new leadership who said they were appalled by the memorial’s shabby construction.
Tear Down, Start Over
Last fall, the Los Angeles Times reported that repairing the half-finished monument would incur costs between $168,000 to $420,000, adding an extra $40,000 to complete the engraving process, making sure each deceased veteran’s name is listed on the wall.
With the heavy price tag for renovation, Orange County officials decided to tear down the memorial (a much less expensive process) and totally rebuild the memorial. Last week, crews came to Mile Square Regional Park to begin the process of demolishing an idea once promising now being torn to rubble.
Janet Nguyen, Do’s successor as county supervisor, said the memorial was a “disgrace” and vowed to do better.
“The county decided to tear down the wall because we can do better. This memorial is a disgrace to veterans and not the respect they deserve,” Nguyen said in a statement to the Daily Mail. “We have been looking for alternative options, including a space at the new veteran’s cemetery.”
Telling local news station KTLA last November that the disgraced memorial was a “heartbreaking” way to honor veterans, she noted the monument, bearing no wheel-chair accessible path, could not be enjoyed by veterans with disabilities.
“What was the point?” Nguyen said at a November press conference. “They ... put up these cheap materials that are getting worn down already within not even a year, just so they could launder the rest of the money themselves.”
Nick Beradino, who serves as president of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County, told the L.A. Times that the memorial looked beyond repair, calling it “trashy.”
“It dishonors the service of the brave men and women whose names are on that wall,” Beradino said. “It’s time to tear it down and move forward.”
A Tale of Deception
Once the monument is torn down, county officials hope to move on from Do’s fraudulent tenure as supervisor.
In 2024, Do pleaded guilty to taking more than $500,000 in bribery money and funneling $10 million in COVID-19 relief funds to the Viet America Society. Based on a report from the Central District of California’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, Do moved about $224,000 to his daughter, Rhiannon Do, who was helping run the Viet America Society.
Last June, Todd Spitzer, Orange County district attorney, said Do “transformed the County of Orange into an ATM available to his insiders, his loved ones, and himself, withdrawing millions of dollars to buy houses, lavish dinners, and expensive wine while the elderly, the sick, and the vulnerable who depended on Andrew Do were left to fend for themselves.”
According to the Department of Justice, Do also filtered funds through the non-profit for his own benefit, using tens of thousands of dollars to pay property tax and credit card bills.
Do certainly left a mess in his destructive wake, but as county officials finish tearing down the old Vietnam veterans memorial, they hope to start fresh and construct a new one properly honoring those who served.
