A Family's Tribute to a Fallen Son

On May 27, 1968, Dr. Victor Westphall was running his backhoe in the Moreno Valley of northeastern New Mexico. He didn’t hear the car approach—the car carrying two Marine Corps captains and the most devastating news a father can receive.

Westphall’s son, David, had been killed five days earlier in an ambush near Con Thien, Vietnam. He was 28 years old. In the days that followed, Westphall, his wife, Jeanne, and son Doug struggled to learn more about David’s death and somehow to move forward. Deliberating over plans to honor his life using $30,000 of life insurance, they discussed a scholarship. Westphall dismissed the idea as too ordinary. That’s when Jeanne suggested creation of The Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel.

They contacted Ted Luna, a young Santa Fe architect, who embraced the memorial’s meaning and purpose and its incorporation into the land David loved. Luna designed a structure with soft gentle curves sweeping upward to the sky. Westphall says the result is “more sculpture than conventional building.” The vast, gull-like structure rises from a mountain knoll to a height of nearly 50 feet.

“The chapel’s design was based on the concept of peace and brotherhood, and we wanted to create a place that would make people feel differently about war,” Luna says. Formally dedicated May 22,1971, three years to the day from David’s death, the chapel became the country’s first monument to Vietnam veterans.

David was a first lieutenant with B Company of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines. In his book, David’s Story: A Casualty of Vietnam, Westphall recounts events of his son’s life and death. Soldiers serving with David tell how his actions saved many lives in his platoon. Thirteen soldiers in David’s company died in the ambush, and 13 photographs of Vietnam veterans line the chapel’s back wall. In the center hangs David’s image, while the remaining 12 are rotated monthly.

Initial attempts to obtain funding for the chapel failed, as the day’s political climate didn’t support such an endeavor. Westphall continued construction with little support—although upon opening, the memorial gained national attention. Six years later, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) offered financial and management assistance, eventually building a visitors’ center.

In November 1998, DAV donated the memorial complex to the David Westphall Veterans Foundation. The Westphalls accepted, but without annual DAV funding, they feared they couldn’t maintain the chapel. Local community leaders rallied and formed a foundation board.

On Veterans Day 2000, architect Luna, now executive officer of the foundation, outlined the memorial’s continued success and its financial struggle. Forest fires hurt tourism throughout northern New Mexico and the memorial felt the effects, so the board developed a website and fund-raising plans. “Dr. Westphall’s personal financial support has allowed us to keep the doors open,” Luna says.

The chapel has remained open 24 hours a day for 30 years. When asked what has kept them going, the Westphalls point solely to faith. “If faith and 32 years of struggle have kept it open, we’ll muddle through,” Westphall says.

Once inside the chapel, visitors are transfixed by the sweeping walls that culminate in a tall, narrow window facing the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Rows of benches with small round cushions and tissue boxes are the only fixtures before an eternal flame. War photos line the visitors’ center walls, and a database helps veterans locate former comrades.

The chapel’s staff and volunteers tell stories of veterans who visited and left transformed in spirit. Luna points out “the dichotomy of the factual statements of war in the visitors’ center versus the peace and spirituality of the chapel.”

In his book, Westphall tells of dreams involving David and other inspirations. He also recounts a story from his own World War II service that explains his devotion to the memorial as a monument to all who served, regardless of race or nationality. Love for a son built a place of peace and healing. “It’s love for humanity that will keep it open,” Westphall says.

Teresa Norris is a freelance writer in Ute Park, N.M.

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