Veterans panel tables Vietnam memorial dates

Other Committee · Meeting of October 27, 2026

ORLEANS — The Orleans Veterans Committee voted 5-0 to table a decision on what years to engrave on the town's planned Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Members Kevin Higgins, Andrew Delorey, Melissa Phillips, Cecil Newcomb and Alan Chase disagreed over whether to use 1965-1973, tied to veterans' DD-214 forms, or a broader range, noting the Washington, D.C. memorial uses 1959-1975. Delorey said "there was no war declared" in Vietnam, complicating any date choice, and Chase warned a fixed range could exclude veterans like a pilot instructor who served before 1965.

The panel told contractor Tom Bluth to install the monument, carrying 144 names, without engraved dates for now, leaving open a QR code or later on-site engraving. The committee also set a Nov. 7 work party at Veterans Memorial Park and finalized plans for the Nov. 11 Veterans Day service, including a Route 28 closure and a surprise fife and drum corps performance.

In the full story:

• Attendance and Remote Participation
• Park Markers and Signage Installed
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial: The Years-of-Conflict Debate
• Plantings, Irrigation and Lighting at Veterans Memorial Park
• Nov. 7 Work Party
• Veterans Day Service Planning (Nov. 11)
• Vietnam Memorial Scale Model Display
• Next Meeting: Nov. 24
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,211 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.