Veterans from throughout Sandoval County flocked to Bernalillo last Saturday. Some fought in World War II, others in Korea, and a few in the Persian Gulf.

Many of the children there will likely follow their fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers by enlisting and becoming veterans of a future war.

But the largest contingent - the guests of honor - was comprised of those who served in Vietnam. About 1,000 people, almost all of them veterans or their family members, gathered around the Sandoval County Courthouse for the dedication of the county's first Vietnam War monument.

The monument is reminiscent of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, with the names of the county's native-born veterans etched onto a black reflective surface, but it has a Southwestern flavor as the black plaques are mounted on an adobe-like structure.

The monument served different purposes for different visitors.

For some, such as Veterans Services and Vietnam vet John Garcia, it bestowed a belated honor on the veterans.

"Even though it's 30 years after the war, it's never too late to say, 'Thank you and welcome home,'" Garcia said.

For others, it is meant to be a reminder of those who served.

"I lost some friends (in Vietnam) and I want to make sure they're never forgotten as long as I'm alive," county commissioner Jack Thomas said.

And for others, it was a teaching tool for those too young to remember.

Jemez resident David Tafoya showed his eight-year-old granddaughter Janae Henderson that her great uncle's name was inscribed on the wall - Frank Tafoya was killed in Vietnam. The monument, David Tafoya said, has created an opportunity for him to pass on that history to his grandchildren.

County commissioner Bill Sapien, who has worked on the project for over a year, said veterans of recent wars have been overshadowed by those of World War II, who are dubbed "the Greatest Generation."

"Any generation that goes to war is, in fact, a great generation," he said. "They (Vietnam veterans) were going to an uncommon war where uncommon valor was commonplace."

Sapien's partner in the project, the man who first envisioned the monument, was Pena Blanca resident Larry Hurtado, who was speechless following the ceremony.

"Are there words?" he asked. "There are no words for this."

That did not stop others for speaking for him.

"I'm really proud of my dad," Valerie Hurtado said. "This means a lot to him. He's a great man."

Bernalillo Mayor Patricia Chavez was equally complimentary.

"He has had the persistence and tenacity to go up against all odds," she said. "It just takes that one little idea to mushroom into something great."

Even people who have never met Hurtado were impressed by him.

"It's neat that he had a vision and it came to this," said Bernalillo resident Joseph Miller, a Gulf War veteran. "It makes me proud."

There are 285 names engraved into the monument, which Hurtado said was finished only hours before the event. Volunteers, led by Rio Ranchoans Fred and Cindy Dimas, built the monument, which is located at the northeast corner of the courthouse at the corner of Camino del Pueblo and Calle Barionuevo.