duncan228
05-06-2009, 01:23 PM
Holt to lead drive for Vietnam center (http://www.mysanantonio.com/military/44464412.html)
By Scott Huddleston - Express-News
San Antonio Spurs chairman Peter Holt, a decorated Vietnam veteran, will lead a national campaign to raise $100 million for a learning center focusing on the Vietnam War.
The underground education center, to be built by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, will include photos and stories of the 58,261 fallen veterans whose names are listed on the Vietnam wall, which attracts millions of visitors each year, officials said.
Holt is “exactly the right person” to lead the capital campaign, said Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
“He knows how important this project is because it honors people he knew and served with,” Scruggs said in a release.
Scruggs announced Holt's role in the fund-raising effort today, after visiting San Antonio last weekend to rally support for the project. The fund has so far raised $18 million, including a $10 million gift from Time Warner.
In the release, Holt said he was excited to assist with the project.
“The Vietnam era was a key time in our nation's history that should never be forgotten,” Holt said.
Holt also is CEO of Holt Companies, whose holdings include the nation's largest Caterpillar dealership. Last year, he told the Express-News he was a 19-year-old Army sergeant assigned to Firebase Burt on the Cambodian border before the Tet Offensive in 1968. He later was involved in house-to-house fighting in Saigon.
Holt was awarded the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars for valor and the Purple Heart, according to the memorial fund's news release.
Last year, Holt and local real estate developer Charles Martin “Marty” Wender were tapped by Mayor Phil Hardberger to lead a local effort to raise up to $1.5 million for a memorial honoring Medal of Honor recipients with ties to San Antonio. The monument is planned for Veterans Memorial Plaza, by Municipal Auditorium.
Gov. Rick Perry serves on the leadership committee for the education center in Washington and will help with the project, according to the release.
By Scott Huddleston - Express-News
San Antonio Spurs chairman Peter Holt, a decorated Vietnam veteran, will lead a national campaign to raise $100 million for a learning center focusing on the Vietnam War.
The underground education center, to be built by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, will include photos and stories of the 58,261 fallen veterans whose names are listed on the Vietnam wall, which attracts millions of visitors each year, officials said.
Holt is “exactly the right person” to lead the capital campaign, said Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
“He knows how important this project is because it honors people he knew and served with,” Scruggs said in a release.
Scruggs announced Holt's role in the fund-raising effort today, after visiting San Antonio last weekend to rally support for the project. The fund has so far raised $18 million, including a $10 million gift from Time Warner.
In the release, Holt said he was excited to assist with the project.
“The Vietnam era was a key time in our nation's history that should never be forgotten,” Holt said.
Holt also is CEO of Holt Companies, whose holdings include the nation's largest Caterpillar dealership. Last year, he told the Express-News he was a 19-year-old Army sergeant assigned to Firebase Burt on the Cambodian border before the Tet Offensive in 1968. He later was involved in house-to-house fighting in Saigon.
Holt was awarded the Silver Star, three Bronze Stars for valor and the Purple Heart, according to the memorial fund's news release.
Last year, Holt and local real estate developer Charles Martin “Marty” Wender were tapped by Mayor Phil Hardberger to lead a local effort to raise up to $1.5 million for a memorial honoring Medal of Honor recipients with ties to San Antonio. The monument is planned for Veterans Memorial Plaza, by Municipal Auditorium.
Gov. Rick Perry serves on the leadership committee for the education center in Washington and will help with the project, according to the release.