Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument The Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument , designed by New Mexico artist Duke Sundt , is a tribute to all Texans who served in the Vietnam War and a memorial to the 3 , 417 who died . Ground was broken on March 25 , 2013 on the northeast side of the Capitol in Austin , Texas . The monument is scheduled to be dedicated on March 29 , 2014 . History of the monument . Texas State Representative Wayne Smith and State Senator Juan " Chuy " Hinojosa met with fellow Vietnam Veterans in December 2005 , each donating $ 1 , 000 to form a nonprofit organization that would finance a monument commemorating Texans who served in the Vietnam War . Other members of the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee included Robert Floyd , John Miterko , Terry B . Burkett , Alan Erwin , Phil Price , Kerry Orr , Don Dorsey , Kinnan Golemon , Richard McBride , and Michael Wright . Lady Bird Johnson , wife of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson , served as Honorary Co - Chair . The legislators co - authored House Concurrent Resolution 36 - 79th Texas Legislature . The monument is being paid for by donations from individuals , corporations and veteran organizations , along with a $ 500 , 000 matching grant from the Texas Historical Commission . Rationale . Nearly 60 , 000 Americans died in the Vietnam War , and 3 , 417 of them were from Texas . At a reading of the names of fallen veterans held in the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium at the LBJ Library , newspaper reporter and Vietnam war correspondent Joe Galloway explained the purpose of the Texas Vietnam Veterans Monument is to " encourage hometowns across America to go all out to welcome Vietnam veterans - - the welcome they didn ' t get 50 years ago . " Sculptor Duke Sundt explains that " there are a number of monuments on the grounds of the state Capitol that represent different groups , but there is no monument for the Texas Vietnam Veterans . To me , they deserve that . This is as much for the ones who are alive as much as the ones who didn ' t make it . " Design . The monument will be a 14 - foot - tall bronze sculpture featuring five seven - foot tall infantry figures in patrol positions situated atop an eight - sided base . Designed to represent the diversity of Texas Vietnam Veterans , the figures will be Hispanic - American , African - American , Asian , Native - American , and Caucasian . Entombed within the monument will be 3 , 417 handcrafted dog tags , representing each of the Texas veterans who died in Vietnam . The estimated cost of the monument is $ 1 . 5 million . The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit . The Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit is a visual representation of the 3 , 417 Texans who did not survive to come home from Vietnam . It was designed by Excalibur Exhibits and consists of hand - embossed dog tags featuring the name , rank , branch of service , and date of loss and home of record for each veteran . A second dog tag bearing duplicate information will be entombed in the Monument on the Texas Capitol grounds . The exhibit opened to the public at the LBJ Library in Austin , Texas on March 24 , 2013 . On the same day , a reading of the names of all 3 , 417 veterans was held in the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium at the LBJ Library , and ground was broken at the Texas State Capitol . The exhibit will travel from Austin to San Antonio , Lubbock , Houston , Fort Worth and Beaumont while the monument is being constructed . Excalibur Exhibits received two Crystal awards by the American Marketing Association for the design and construction of the Texas Vietnam Heroes Exhibit in the categories of Fixed Installation and Nonprofit / Cause .