By Av Rivel
At the March 22 meeting of the Retired Men’s Association, Skip Auch introduced the speaker, Robert Doubek, who spoke on “Creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial – The Inside Story,” based on his memoir of the same name.
Doubek grew up in an American family with Czech roots. They were bakers and confectioners for three generations, including his. In 1962, he enrolled at the University of Illinois, studying political science, German, and Russian. Soon after graduating from the university, Robert was commissioned in the Air Force. He served as an intelligence officer in Vietnam, focusing on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, among other projects. After his service, he earned a law degree at Georgetown University.
In 1979 Doubek and two other Vietnam veterans, John Wheeler and Jan Scruggs, co-founded the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Doubek served as its executive director and project director until completing the project in 1982. This was an incredibly short time span to plan and execute a major monument project in Washington D.C. (The WWII Memorial took 11 years from congressional approval to opening.)
This talk was truly an “inside story,” told by the man who was there, in the middle of the controversy, with all the trials, disappointments and triumphs. As told by Doubek, it was a grassroots effort launched by veterans with no public funds and it sparked an emotional national debate about aesthetics and the interpretation of heroism, patriotism and history, a debate that nearly doomed the project. Doubek’s account related the complete story of the memorial’s creation amid Washington politics, a nationwide design competition and the heated controversy over the winning design and its creator. As a public art project meant to “honor all who served and a memorial to all who did not return (58,220 American troops from all services), it faced some powerful enemies including Pat Buchanan, Ross Perot and Secretary of the Interior James Watt. The project was supported by all major veterans’ organizations, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American Veterans.
The talk was followed by a spirited Q&A.
To see the full presentation, go to https://greenwichrma.org, cursor to “Speakers” and click on “Speaker Videos.”
The RMA’s upcoming presentation, “U. S. Economic and Political Security: What Are the Threats?” by Congressman Jim Himes is scheduled for 11 AM on Wednesday, April 5th. Fourteen-year U.S. House Representative Jim Himes will discuss a range of issues including China, Russia, climate change, social justice, economic recession, inflation, immigration and terrorism. Himes brings significant Congressional experience in each of these areas.
Congressman Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th U.S. Congressional District. He is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and is ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Born in Lima, Peru in 1966 to American parents, he spent the early years of his childhood in Peru and Colombia while his father worked for the Ford Foundation and UNICEF. As an American abroad, Jim grew up fluent in both Spanish and English and was raised with an awareness of the unique position of the United States in the world. At the age of ten, Jim moved with his mother and sisters to the United States.
After completing his undergraduate work at Harvard University, he earned a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University. Prior to his service in Congress, Jim ran the N.Y.C. branch of Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing the unique challenges of urban poverty, particularly financing the construction of thousands of affordable housing units. Jim began his professional career at Goldman Sachs & Co. where he worked his way up to vice president over the course of a 12-year career.
Jim lives in Greenwich with his wife Mary, and two daughters, Emma and Linley. He is the former chairman of the Greenwich Housing Authority (now Greenwich Communities).
To stream the presentation by Congressman Himes at 11 AM on Wednesday, April 5, click on https://bit.ly/30IBj21. This presentation will also be available on local public access TV channels, Verizon FIOS channel 24 and Optimum (Cablevision) channel 79.
Note: The views expressed in these presentations are those of the speakers. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, or contact our membership chairman (mailto:members@greenwichrma.org).
