Pitcairn Monument Honors Local Vietnam War Veterans
PITCAIRN (KDKA) -- An American Legion post in Pitcairn unveiled a monument honoring all the local men and women who served during the Vietnam War on Saturday afternoon.
The monument was unveiled during the Pitcairn Community Day Celebration. It bears the names of more than 200 names of men and women from Pitcairn who served during the Vietnam War, including six men who were killed during the war.
American Legion Post 256 Cmdr. Frank Gallo says the project was sparked by the response to the World War I, World War II and Korean War monuments in Pitcairn. Getting all of the names of the veterans alone took seven years.
"It took me seven years to get the names back and forth from the papers and stuff like that. Cards, letters, phone calls, newspapers, local papers -- that's how I accumulated all the names," Gallo said. "It's hard to believe. I'm stunned a little bit because... it's there, I've seen it, and I said, 'It's finally come true.'"
The town of Pitcairn paid $15,000 to help pay for the tribute on Broadway Avenue. From start to finish, it took nearly 15 years, but things really heated up when they found the right kind of brick.
"That was one of the stumbling blocks to getting this thing done. I had to find that. It took me like a year. Finally found it at a place in Greensburg -- at Greensburg Block -- and once we got the block, we were on our way. It took like two months after that," Art Trunzo said.
Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter
