The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fountain at Broadway and West 42nd Street in Old Westport honors the 451 Kansas City-area casualties of the Vietnam War with a granite name wall and a five-pool fountain designed by Vietnam veteran David M. Baker. The wall was dedicated December 16, 1985; the fountain and park followed on September 6, 1986.123

Location and form

The memorial sits in Cameron Park at Broadway Boulevard and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Drive (West 42nd Street), in Kansas City, Missouri’s Westport neighborhood. Kansas City Parks & Recreation lists the intersection as Broadway and W. 42nd Street; listings commonly give the street address 4181 Broadway Blvd., 64111.124 Parks hours are 5 a.m. to midnight daily.1

The water feature is five rectangular, interconnected pools of descending size. Water starts in a higher, calmer pool at the south end and flows north. Baker, who designed the fountain and served two Army tours in Vietnam, described the first pool as the small American involvement of 1959; turbulence in the middle as the escalation marked by the 1968 Tet Offensive; and the final split into two pools as the division of American public opinion over the war and the soldier.135 Parks and the City of Fountains Foundation describe the same sequence more compactly: smaller-to-larger pools for growing involvement, then two receiving pools for divided opinion, with the water itself standing for time’s power to cleanse and heal.12

A semi-circular granite wall carries the names of 451 Kansas City-area service members killed or missing in the war. The name field is flanked by a Vietnam Service Medal (for all who served) and a Purple Heart (for those wounded or killed). A headstone marked “Goodbye My Friend” commemorates veterans who returned home and have since died. A winding concrete path is intended for slow walking.135

The on-site plaque, written by Art Fillmore, reads in part: “Water, like time, has the power to cleanse and heal.”63

Building the memorial (1985–1986)

The project was developed by the Kansas City Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. Fillmore — a Kansas City attorney, Vietnam veteran, and later founder of the Heart of America Stand Down (1992) and co-founder of St. Michael’s Veterans Center — chaired the original foundation.13 The idea dates to the early 1980s.5

Construction ran in two phases. The granite wall was dedicated December 16, 1985. The wall absorbed the money then on hand, leaving the fountain unbuilt.13 After the unfinished wall was defaced with grease-paint swastikas and anti-American slogans — an incident Fillmore said drew national media — aviation-parts businessman and Air Force veteran Del Dunmire (d. 2016) donated more than $250,000 to finish the fountain and seed early upkeep.3 The fountain and park were dedicated September 6, 1986.12

The completed memorial was deeded to the city. Care sits with KCMO Parks & Recreation.13 It is a midtown entry in the City of Fountains inventory, distinct from the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial (the Wall) in Washington, D.C., designed by Maya Lin and dedicated November 13, 1982.25

Disrepair and the 2023 pump

The fountain sat dry for several years after the pump failed. Parks director Chris Cotten told Flatland a replacement ordered in March 2023 was delayed by COVID-era parts shortages and was installed the week of July 11, 2023 (the Tuesday before Flatland’s July 13 report). Capstone repair on the granite wall and specially ordered lighting were still outstanding at that writing. Twice-yearly ceremonies continue on Memorial Day and Veterans Day; Fillmore and Baker both described the dry fountain as a second insult to returning veterans.3

What it commemorates

Fillmore’s brief for the site is that the moving water memorializes those who returned, not only those who died: “Even if you hate the war, or disrespect the war, you can’t disrespect the warrior.”3 The National Archives’ Vietnam casualty file, cited in the same Flatland report, lists 58,220 American dead, including 627 from Kansas and 1,418 from Missouri.3

The memorial is not a KCK site. Several names on the wall are of Kansas City, Kansas, residents; the ground itself is in Westport, Kansas City, Missouri.3

Sources

See also

westport, liberty-memorial, wwi-doughboy-at-westport, midtown-kc-fountains, city-of-fountains-identity, liberty-memorial-sculptures, The KS.City Wiki

Footnotes

  1. Kansas City Parks & Recreation — “Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Fountain.” — Confirms: Broadway and W. 42nd St.; hours 5 a.m.–midnight; wall dedicated Dec. 16, 1985; fountain and park dedicated Sept. 6, 1986; designer David M. Baker; five rectangular interconnected pools and their official symbolism; Kansas City Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc.; 451 names; Cameron Park. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  2. City of Fountains Foundation — “Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Fountain.” — Confirms: same dedication dates, designer, five-pool description, 451 names, Fund as developer; location Broadway Boulevard and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Drive; owner KCMO Parks. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Mary Sanchez, Flatland KC / Kansas City PBS — “Troubled Waters: KC’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Restored” (July 13, 2023) — Confirms: Fillmore as original foundation chair and plaque author; Baker as fountain designer and two-tour Vietnam veteran; 451 names; Service Medal and Purple Heart; “Goodbye My Friend” headstone; path; pool symbolism (1959 / Tet / split opinion) in Baker’s words; vandalism and Dunmire gift of more than $250,000; deed to the city; July 2023 pump install (Cotten); planned capstone and lighting work; Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies; National Archives state casualty figures. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  4. National War Memorial Registry — “Kansas City Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fountain.” — Confirms: street address 4181 Broadway Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64111. ↩

  5. The Clio — “Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fountain” (June 30, 2022) — Confirms: early-1980s Fund origin; Baker as designer; Sept. 6, 1986 fountain dedication; Dec. 16, 1985 wall; 451 names; Service Medal and Purple Heart; plaque text; distinction from the national Wall (Nov. 13, 1982). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Historical Marker Database — “Kansas City Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fountain” (marker m=88226) — Confirms: plaque inscription (water / time / two pools); location on Broadway south of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Drive, Old Westport. The page’s user-submitted name roster is a partial transcription, not an official count; Parks, COFF, Flatland and Clio all give 451. ↩

See also

Categories
  • Wiki Page
  • Monument
  • Fountain
  • Westport
  • Public Art

On the record — ks.city/wiki/monuments-and-public-art/vietnam-veterans-memorial-kc · last revised 2026-08-12