By Harry Saltzgaver

An Army Huey helicopter has “flown” over the corner of Houghton Park at Atlantic Avenue and Harding Street for more than a decade.

For the last three or four years, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that uses that helicopter as its centerpiece has been fenced and locked, open only on national holidays, if then. The concern was vandalism.

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the fence will come down and a $250,000 upgrade will be open to the public as the new Veterans Valor Plaza. New hardscape will connect the monument to the sidewalk, new landscaping will include gardens and a digital message board.

“We just can’t be afraid of our community,” Vice Mayor and 9th District Councilman Rex Richardson said. “I’d a lot rather activate it.”

A design for the plaza was created by City Fabrick and vetted at the same time that requests for ideas about about the Veterans Day Parade and celebration were sought. The selected design includes a wall where bricks or plaques of honor could be installed.

“We wanted to do this last year, but couldn’t get it all together,” Richardson said. “This actually will work better with the new celebration. And it’s only the first phase — we hope to come back with more improvements for the benches, lighting and such.”

The memorial and the helicopter were installed in 2000 at the instigation of then-9th District Councilman Jerry Shultz, a Vietnam veteran. The Huey was a symbol of Vietnam, and this particular helicopter flew missions there (and has bullet holes to prove it).

For 20 years, the memorial marked the starting point for the Long Beach Veterans Day Parade. But declining participation — and declining numbers of spectators — spawned talk of moving the parade farther south on Atlantic Avenue.

That prompted a reaction from Richardson, with the resulting study and numerous changes. The parade now will start near DeForest Park and head east on South Street before turning north on Atlantic Avenue. It still will end at Houghton Park.

Once the parade is over, Atlantic Avenue will stay closed from the Michele Obama Library to Houghton Park for a street fair, with music, vendors, food and more. There will be a ribbon-cutting for the plaza, then the park will host a veterans festival, with services and activities specifically designed for service members. That includes a “buy a vet a beer” garden and a tribute band concert.

The party will run until 3 p.m. Saturday. Everything is free for spectators except the food and vendor merchandise.

For more information, call Richardson’s office at 562-570-6137 or go to www.lbveteransdayparade.com.

Harry Saltzgaver is executive editor of Gazette Newspapers. He can be reached at hsalt@gazettes.com.