thedrifter
09-07-06, 03:12 PM
September 7, 2006
Man behind Vietnam Veterans Memorial honored
Lara Becker Liu
Staff Writer
Barry Culhane is not subtle about his love of country.
A giant American flag hangs over a window in his office at Rochester Institute of Technology. Pictures of U.S. presidents adorn the walls. His cell phone plays "God Bless America."
But the greatest homage to his love lies five miles away, in Highland Park.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial there bears Culhane's name in only two places — at the bottom of a plaque welcoming visitors, and at the end of a timeline he authored that snakes along the footpath.
Yet his imprint is everywhere.
Culhane chaired the group that stubbornly pursued a memorial for Rochester-area Vietnam veterans. Culhane labored to give it an education component that would dignify the memorial's motto, "to commemorate, to educate, to heal."
And when funding for the $1.5 million project fell short, Culhane and fellow board member Max Lill took out a loan for $100,000 to finish it.
"Barry is a very passionate individual who only knows how to do things at a full trot," says RIT President Albert Simone, for whom Culhane works as executive assistant. "Giving 100 percent and never letting up ... has been the key secret to his success. Without his leadership and persistent dedication, we would not have that memorial."
Culhane calls the memorial "the hardest thing I have done and one of the most rewarding." Yet when encountering visitors during his weekly visits there, he doesn't discuss his role, preferring to observe how they "interact with the memorial."
So, he says, "it's a little embarrassing" that on Friday — 10 years after the memorial was dedicated, and 20 years after Culhane began working on it — local officials will proclaim Sept. 9 "Barry Culhane Day."
"That and a buck ninety four will get you a Venti at Starbucks," he quips.
'Above and beyond'
Culhane, 59, is himself a Vietnam War-era veteran; he served stateside as a medic, treating injured soldiers, some of them Napalm victims. "I lost a lot of friends," he says, choking up.
Ultimately, he felt compelled to honor those people, and in 1987, he began meeting with others who felt the same way.
"We talked forever," Culhane says, "and finally I said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, you know, I really don't care for meetings. I like to get something done.' And you know what happens then: They make you chairman."
That proved the easiest part. For the next 10 years, Culhane and an ever-rotating group of board members struggled to find a location, raise funds and appease critics who were concerned that the memorial would siphon money away from other veterans' causes, or wouldn't recognize veterans of other wars or from other communities.
"This was really tough," says Lill, who was vice chair of the group and oversaw construction. "If you didn't concentrate on this every minute, it was like the rock was going to go down the hill and you'd have to start over."
Throughout it all, the community remained bitterly divided about how to respond to the Vietnam War.
"Some folks wanted to take this piece of American history and just sort of leave it behind," says Andy Portanova, nominating chairman of the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial Corp. in 1988. Culhane "went above and beyond" to overcome such obstacles.
Eventually, Monroe County gave the group the 2.2 acres in Highland Park, then the rubble-strewn former site of the jail and a burial ground. In a compromise with those who wanted to honor veterans of other wars, their names are inscribed on bricks leading to the memorial.
Culhane used the $100,000 he borrowed — and didn't tell his wife about it until New York Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, came through with a grant to cover it — in part to purchase the last pieces of granite for his beloved timeline. He had spent five years working on it, spurred on by dismay over the single paragraph on Vietnam he found in his daughters' textbooks.
'He keeps giving'
While toiling on the memorial, Culhane also served in various capacities at RIT and chaired multiple boards, including that of the Al Sigl Center.
He's deferential to his partners on the memorial, and to his wife, Christine Licata, associate vice president for academic affairs at National Technical Institute for the Deaf, with whom he has two grown daughters, Katie and Cari.
Culhane has been at RIT since 1974. He says he'll assist the next president, after Simone retires. But he's stepping down as chairman of the memorial group.
On a gloomy day this week, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial stood silent. Evidence of visitors stood out against the steely sky — bright plastic flowers and American flags wired to the 280 stainless steel posts that bear the names of the war dead.
A broken beer bottle lay in a gulley — and did not go unnoticed by Culhane, who says it was removed later that day.
"Barry is always looking for ways that he can help or contribute, but he never wants any public recognition," says Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, who, with Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, will declare Friday "Barry Culhane Day."
"We live in a world where people often do things to garner attention. Barry is just the opposite."
LBECKER@DemocratandChronicle.com
Anniversary events
A series of free events is scheduled in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the dedication of the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
6 p.m. Friday: Informal gathering of all who have volunteered or in any way contributed to the memorial.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday: Memorial celebration for the public, including an early-morning landing and afternoon departure of a UH-1 Huey helicopter; static military displays; educational tours, refreshments; entertainment and VVM merchandise. A special commemorative 10-year anniversary poster will be available. Proceeds will go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In addition, a candlelight vigil with the reading of the names will commence from dusk until midnight by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20.
1:30 p.m. Sunday: Father Michael Bausch, pastor of Church of the Transfiguration and chair of the Greater Rochester Council of Churches, will lead a prayer in remembrance of the Vietnam War. The service should last about one hour and participants will be invited to walk silently though the Memorial.
Barry Culhane
Age: 59
Residence: Rochester
Education: A psychologist, Culhane holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Windsor, Canada, and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Rochester.
Occupation: Executive assistant to the president at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Served in the U.S. Army as a medic from 1969-1971.
Affiliations: Serves on the Boards of Governors of The Al Sigl Center, Junior Achievement of Rochester (1983-2004) and Rochester Rotary Club, where he serves as past president (2000-1). Elected to the Rochester Rotary Charitable Trust Board of Directors (2001; president, 2004-5). Chair of the board of Upstate Multiple Sclerosis (1994-1996), Chair of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Greater Rochester Inc. (1989-present). Since 2002, served as a founding board member of Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education. Lifetime member of the Vietnam Veterans of America and the American Legion. Judge in the St. Patrick's Day Parade (1998-2002) and active in numerous community organizations.
Awards: In 1995, President of RIT's Award for Excellence and the Roger Robach Award for his work on the Vietnam Memorial. In 1996, named individual community Volunteer of the Year as the recipient of the United Way of Greater Rochester and J.C. Penney Co. Golden Rule Award. In 1996, received the Outstanding Service Award from Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 20. In 1997, served as president of the national University and College Ombuds Association. In 1997, elected into the Gates Chili High School Hall of Fame. In 1998, along with fellow board members, received the Monroe County Veterans Advocacy Award. In 2001, named the Multiple Sclerosis "Angel" of the year. In 2003, named "Conservative of the Year" by the Sullivan Policy Institute. In 2004, received the RIT Four Presidents Award for Distinguished Public Service.
Man behind Vietnam Veterans Memorial honored
Lara Becker Liu
Staff Writer
Barry Culhane is not subtle about his love of country.
A giant American flag hangs over a window in his office at Rochester Institute of Technology. Pictures of U.S. presidents adorn the walls. His cell phone plays "God Bless America."
But the greatest homage to his love lies five miles away, in Highland Park.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial there bears Culhane's name in only two places — at the bottom of a plaque welcoming visitors, and at the end of a timeline he authored that snakes along the footpath.
Yet his imprint is everywhere.
Culhane chaired the group that stubbornly pursued a memorial for Rochester-area Vietnam veterans. Culhane labored to give it an education component that would dignify the memorial's motto, "to commemorate, to educate, to heal."
And when funding for the $1.5 million project fell short, Culhane and fellow board member Max Lill took out a loan for $100,000 to finish it.
"Barry is a very passionate individual who only knows how to do things at a full trot," says RIT President Albert Simone, for whom Culhane works as executive assistant. "Giving 100 percent and never letting up ... has been the key secret to his success. Without his leadership and persistent dedication, we would not have that memorial."
Culhane calls the memorial "the hardest thing I have done and one of the most rewarding." Yet when encountering visitors during his weekly visits there, he doesn't discuss his role, preferring to observe how they "interact with the memorial."
So, he says, "it's a little embarrassing" that on Friday — 10 years after the memorial was dedicated, and 20 years after Culhane began working on it — local officials will proclaim Sept. 9 "Barry Culhane Day."
"That and a buck ninety four will get you a Venti at Starbucks," he quips.
'Above and beyond'
Culhane, 59, is himself a Vietnam War-era veteran; he served stateside as a medic, treating injured soldiers, some of them Napalm victims. "I lost a lot of friends," he says, choking up.
Ultimately, he felt compelled to honor those people, and in 1987, he began meeting with others who felt the same way.
"We talked forever," Culhane says, "and finally I said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, you know, I really don't care for meetings. I like to get something done.' And you know what happens then: They make you chairman."
That proved the easiest part. For the next 10 years, Culhane and an ever-rotating group of board members struggled to find a location, raise funds and appease critics who were concerned that the memorial would siphon money away from other veterans' causes, or wouldn't recognize veterans of other wars or from other communities.
"This was really tough," says Lill, who was vice chair of the group and oversaw construction. "If you didn't concentrate on this every minute, it was like the rock was going to go down the hill and you'd have to start over."
Throughout it all, the community remained bitterly divided about how to respond to the Vietnam War.
"Some folks wanted to take this piece of American history and just sort of leave it behind," says Andy Portanova, nominating chairman of the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial Corp. in 1988. Culhane "went above and beyond" to overcome such obstacles.
Eventually, Monroe County gave the group the 2.2 acres in Highland Park, then the rubble-strewn former site of the jail and a burial ground. In a compromise with those who wanted to honor veterans of other wars, their names are inscribed on bricks leading to the memorial.
Culhane used the $100,000 he borrowed — and didn't tell his wife about it until New York Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, came through with a grant to cover it — in part to purchase the last pieces of granite for his beloved timeline. He had spent five years working on it, spurred on by dismay over the single paragraph on Vietnam he found in his daughters' textbooks.
'He keeps giving'
While toiling on the memorial, Culhane also served in various capacities at RIT and chaired multiple boards, including that of the Al Sigl Center.
He's deferential to his partners on the memorial, and to his wife, Christine Licata, associate vice president for academic affairs at National Technical Institute for the Deaf, with whom he has two grown daughters, Katie and Cari.
Culhane has been at RIT since 1974. He says he'll assist the next president, after Simone retires. But he's stepping down as chairman of the memorial group.
On a gloomy day this week, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial stood silent. Evidence of visitors stood out against the steely sky — bright plastic flowers and American flags wired to the 280 stainless steel posts that bear the names of the war dead.
A broken beer bottle lay in a gulley — and did not go unnoticed by Culhane, who says it was removed later that day.
"Barry is always looking for ways that he can help or contribute, but he never wants any public recognition," says Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, who, with Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, will declare Friday "Barry Culhane Day."
"We live in a world where people often do things to garner attention. Barry is just the opposite."
LBECKER@DemocratandChronicle.com
Anniversary events
A series of free events is scheduled in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the dedication of the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
6 p.m. Friday: Informal gathering of all who have volunteered or in any way contributed to the memorial.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday: Memorial celebration for the public, including an early-morning landing and afternoon departure of a UH-1 Huey helicopter; static military displays; educational tours, refreshments; entertainment and VVM merchandise. A special commemorative 10-year anniversary poster will be available. Proceeds will go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In addition, a candlelight vigil with the reading of the names will commence from dusk until midnight by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20.
1:30 p.m. Sunday: Father Michael Bausch, pastor of Church of the Transfiguration and chair of the Greater Rochester Council of Churches, will lead a prayer in remembrance of the Vietnam War. The service should last about one hour and participants will be invited to walk silently though the Memorial.
Barry Culhane
Age: 59
Residence: Rochester
Education: A psychologist, Culhane holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Windsor, Canada, and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Rochester.
Occupation: Executive assistant to the president at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Served in the U.S. Army as a medic from 1969-1971.
Affiliations: Serves on the Boards of Governors of The Al Sigl Center, Junior Achievement of Rochester (1983-2004) and Rochester Rotary Club, where he serves as past president (2000-1). Elected to the Rochester Rotary Charitable Trust Board of Directors (2001; president, 2004-5). Chair of the board of Upstate Multiple Sclerosis (1994-1996), Chair of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Greater Rochester Inc. (1989-present). Since 2002, served as a founding board member of Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education. Lifetime member of the Vietnam Veterans of America and the American Legion. Judge in the St. Patrick's Day Parade (1998-2002) and active in numerous community organizations.
Awards: In 1995, President of RIT's Award for Excellence and the Roger Robach Award for his work on the Vietnam Memorial. In 1996, named individual community Volunteer of the Year as the recipient of the United Way of Greater Rochester and J.C. Penney Co. Golden Rule Award. In 1996, received the Outstanding Service Award from Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 20. In 1997, served as president of the national University and College Ombuds Association. In 1997, elected into the Gates Chili High School Hall of Fame. In 1998, along with fellow board members, received the Monroe County Veterans Advocacy Award. In 2001, named the Multiple Sclerosis "Angel" of the year. In 2003, named "Conservative of the Year" by the Sullivan Policy Institute. In 2004, received the RIT Four Presidents Award for Distinguished Public Service.