Preserving Memory and Healing: The Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project Collection 

Rogers Memorial Library is proud to announce the addition of the Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project Collection to the Long Island Collection and Digital Archives. Donated by Southampton resident and Vietnam combat veteran Raymond W. Enstine Jr., the collection preserves an important chapter of Southampton's history and documents a decades-long effort to honor local residents who served during the Vietnam War.

Although the proposed memorial was never fully realized, the project left behind a remarkable historical record and a lasting impact on the community. Through correspondence, photographs, architectural drawings, meeting minutes, newspaper articles, speeches, veteran lists, and personal reflections, the collection tells the story of a community seeking to recognize service, preserve memory, and foster understanding.

The Beginning of a Community Effort

The origins of the project date back to 1978, when Enstine was serving with the Water Mill Village Improvement Association. He was asked to help compile a list of local residents who had served during the Vietnam War so that they could be recognized alongside other veterans in Water Mill. During the process, he discovered that no comprehensive list of local Vietnam veterans existed, despite repeated attempts to locate one through local veterans' organizations and government agencies.

Years later, in 1985, Enstine approached then Southampton Village Mayor Roy Wines and asked why there was no memorial in Agawam Park honoring those who served during the Vietnam War. The question sparked a community conversation that resulted in the formation of a committee of local veterans and town officials’ and an effort to purchase the former American Legion building and transform it into Veterans Memorial Hall, a community gathering space that would also serve as a memorial to Southampton's Vietnam veterans. 

The proposed memorial, known as the Vietnam Veteran Plaza, was designed by local architect Peter Paul Muller. Plans called for a V-shaped memorial plaza and dedicated flagpole at the newly acquired Veterans Memorial Hall overlooking Agawam Park. The project was envisioned as both a tribute to local veterans and a gathering place for the community.

A Project That Became a Healing Process

As the project developed, Enstine and fellow Vietnam veteran Eugene Dombrowski worked alongside the Southampton Veterans Committee to identify and document local Vietnam-era veterans. Newspaper appeals, public meetings, and community outreach efforts generated an overwhelming response.

What began as a search for names soon became something much larger.

As Raymond W. Enstine Jr. later reflected, the Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project became about far more than constructing a monument.

Through outreach efforts, community meetings, and countless phone calls, veterans and their families began coming forward not only with names, but with stories that had often remained unspoken for decades. What began as an effort to compile a list of local Vietnam veterans evolved into an opportunity for dialogue, reflection, and understanding.

Enstine recalled hearing from brothers who had both served in Vietnam but had never discussed their experiences with one another. Parents spoke about the difficulty of talking with their children about the war, while spouses sought to better understand the emotional challenges their loved ones carried home. Some family members found comfort simply in realizing they were not alone in their experiences. As the list of names grew, Enstine came to see that the project’s greatest achievement was not the memorial itself, but the conversations it inspired.

Reflecting on the experience, he wrote, “The process of collecting the names was more important than the finished list itself. A healing process was happening.”

For many participants, the project became a space for reflection, understanding, and reconciliation. Veterans who had rarely spoken publicly about their service began sharing stories, attending ceremonies, and reconnecting with fellow veterans. Family members gained new insight into experiences that had often been difficult to discuss.

Ultimately, the Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project became more than an effort to build a monument. It became a community-wide effort to acknowledge service, foster understanding, and ensure that the experiences of Southampton’s Vietnam veterans would not be forgotten.

Challenges and Compromise

The effort to create a memorial was not without challenges.

Some veterans believed that any Vietnam memorial should be located within Agawam Park alongside Southampton's existing World War I and World War II memorials. Others supported the proposal at Veterans Memorial Hall. Differences in opinion regarding location, design, and the project's broader goals ultimately contributed to delays and disagreements.

Enstine later reflected that the project revealed a generational divide between Vietnam veterans and veterans of earlier conflicts. Yet he also recognized that local veterans' organizations could play an important role in helping Vietnam veterans process their experiences and find support.

Despite these challenges, the committee continued its work. By August 1985, the committee had compiled a list of 183 local Vietnam-era veterans, with most names already verified and additional names continuing to emerge as research continued and families came forward. The effort represented one of the first organized attempts to document Southampton residents who served during the Vietnam era. 

Although the Vietnam Veteran Plaza was never constructed as originally envisioned, the effort itself left a meaningful legacy. The veteran lists compiled during the project later served as valuable resources for Veterans Day ceremonies, churches, cemetery organizations, and subsequent memorial initiatives throughout Southampton and nearby communities. 

Preserving the Collection

In September 2025, Enstine donated the records to Rogers Memorial Library before relocating full-time to South Carolina. Recognizing the historical significance of the materials, Local History Reference Librarian, Mayra Collumbell undertook a comprehensive preservation project.

Over the following months, the collection was carefully organized, scanned, and rehoused to ensure long-term preservation and public accessibility. The result is a fully processed and digitized collection available in the Long Island Room, as well as through the library's Local History Webpage. 

Researchers can now explore original project records, correspondence, photographs, newspaper coverage, architectural plans, veteran lists, and personal reflections that document the history of the Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project and the people behind it.

Why This Collection Matters

The Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project Collection is ultimately about more than an unbuilt memorial. It is a story about remembrance, community, and the ongoing effort to recognize the sacrifices of those who served.

While the physical memorial never came to fruition, the effort fostered conversations, preserved stories, and created records that continue to serve the community today. It demonstrates how historical preservation can capture not only events and organizations, but also the emotions, aspirations, and lived experiences of the people who shaped them.

As Local History Reference Librarian Mayra Collumbell reflected:

"Yes, the project never came to fruition and these blueprints never actually came into reality, but it shows just how much the people who worked on this project, the people who donated, and the people who wrote letters were impacted by the effort."

Today, the Southampton Vietnam Memorial Project Collection joins Rogers Memorial Library's growing archive of local history materials documenting Southampton's people, organizations, and community heritage. We are honored to have the opportunity to showcase this collection to the public and hope this important chapter of Southampton history will remain accessible for future generations to study, remember, and learn from.

To explore this collection, visit the Rogers Memorial Library's Local History Page

Mayra Collumbell

Local History Reference Librarian
Rogers Memorial Library

Veterans Hall Vietnam Memorial Doughboys Plaque, November 11, 1985