My Lai Peace Park

On March 16, 1998, the 30th Anniversary of the massacre at My Lai a simple groundbreaking was held at the site of the future My Lai Peace Park. After the extensive ceremonies at the My Lai Memorial we all then walked a mile or so the site of the My Lai Peace Park. Speeches were then given by Vietnamese officials and Mike Boehm expressing the hope for a peaceful future relationship between our two countries which this new Peace Park represents. After that Hugh Thompson, Larry Colburn and our Vietnamese counterparts, planted Mango trees, new life to arise out of death.

Near the hamlet of My Lai on December 6, 1996, after two years of discussions, a Memorandum of Understanding was drawn up and signed by Le Phuong Tuan, Vice Chair, Son Tinh District (My Lai) and Roy M. (Mike) Boehm, Vietnam veteran and representative of the Quakers in Madison, Wisconsin.

This Memorandum envisions the My Lai Peace Park as "a place for children to entertain and a place where people can meditate over the past with its suffering and losses and also to hope for a better future." The proposed Peace Park will cover two hectares (about 4.5 acres) near the My Lai War Memorial. Plans call for the Park's dedication on March 16, 1998 -- the 30th anniversary of the My Lai massacre. The peace park was inspired by the Vietnamese-American Peace Park North of Hanoi.

The My Lai Peace Park Project was undertaken by the Quakers in Madison, Wisconsin at the request of the Women's Union of Quang Ngai Province and the Quang Ngai Province People's Committee. Inspired by the Vietnamese-American Peace Park being built north of Ha Noi, they asked for help in building a similar park for My Lai.

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