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Sunday, May 26, 2002

By Anita Srikameswaran, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

For almost an hour, friends, family and fellow soldiers read the names, ranks and branches of service of each of the 412 men from Allegheny County who were killed in the Vietnam War.

	Carl Becker of Sharpsburg, a veteran of the Vietnam war, visits the newly dedicated memorial at the old Allegheny County Jail which carries the names of his two cousins -- Albert Colletto and Richard Kulwicki -- and 410 other men from the county who died in Vietnam. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette) Related coverage Death March left permanent mark on WWII veterans

During yesterday's dedication of the Black Granite Vietnam War Memorial, a father looked to the heavens to gather his composure. But, as was true for many other speakers, he couldn't stop his voice from cracking as he said his son's name.

Another man, the best friend of a deceased veteran, stepped back from the microphone and in tears and raw pain whispered an additional name: "Jesus."

Fathers, cousins, nephews, brothers. The servicemen's names are inscribed in a 13-foot tall memorial in a corner of the old Allegheny County Jail's courtyard, which will be called Black Granite Park.

Before the ceremony, comrades-in-arms hugged each other.

"I knew your father," a veteran said to one woman, making her eyes light up as she forged another link to a dad she has come to know through other people's memories.

Organizer Gloria Sztukowski welcomed the audience of 200 and went through another long list of names, thanking the designers, ironworkers, granite cutters and many others who helped make the memorial a reality. Much of the effort and materials in the memorial were donated.

Black Granite was the brainchild of James "Jimmy" Cvetic, who had been a detective with the Allegheny County police for nearly three decades before retiring last year. In 1968-69, in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, he was a police officer with the U.S. Air Force.

Cvetic, 52, last year mounted a multidisciplinary production of more than 100 artists called "Black Granite: Not So Long Ago...Vietnam," and decided to design a monument in memory of slain soldiers from Allegheny County.

For yesterday's dedication, 415 American flags were planted in the ground, flanking the structure. The names of three more fallen soldiers who had Pittsburgh roots will be added to the list of names.

Cvetic said that the peak of the memorial's black steel triangle, which represents the region's rivers, stands 13 feet high to reflect the 13 original colonies. The number "4" is engraved above what he calls a crying rose. Its stem leads to a "00," recalling the symbol for infinity. The number "1" sits atop the number "2," intended to bring to mind the idea that one life lost is too many.

"You have to raise your head high to read the 412 and lower your eyes to read the names and move your head to the left and right to find the names," he said. "We designed that very specifically."

Traditional Pittsburgh colors are shown by gold spheres atop two black flagposts and on the monument's back is a peace symbol, which soldiers wore on their helmets.

A group of 12 bolts represents the months of the year, and 10 bolts in the corners stand for the years of fighting in Vietnam, as well as the Ten Commandments. Included in the landscaping around the memorial is a white rhododendron, chosen to reflect purity.

The people who put the project together had connections to the Vietnam War, Cvetic said. Some served in the military, others had relatives or friends who fought.

"There was no fund-raiser," he said. "A shoestring and a prayer, that's all it was."

During the two-hour dedication, a crew from the 911th Airlift Wing flew directly overhead in a C-130 plane while the national anthem was sung. Honor guards were present from all branches of the military, as were representatives of Allegheny County's police and sheriff's departments and the city's fire department and its bagpipers. Union officials also attended.

Cvetic said he plans to have an event at the site every Memorial Day. Meanwhile, the courtyard park is open on weekdays and Cvetic is trying to arrange for openings on some weekends.