The New Ulm City Council tabled a decision on where to place a Vietnam Veterans memorial in New Ulm at its meeting Tuesday. The decision was brought about by an anonymous donor willing to pay for the memorial to the six New Ulm men killed in action in Vietnam. The donor stipulated the memorial should be placed in German Park.

The upshot of Tuesday’s discussion at the council meeting was not whether to have a memorial, but where to have it. Councilors all agreed that having a memorial to our Vietnam heroes is a wonderful idea, but there have been critics who feel German Park may not be the place. It wouldn’t be visible enough there, some felt, or it doesn’t fit in with the park’s character and usage.

So a committee has been formed to discuss and prepare a recommendation for something the city probably should have had years ago — a park in town dedicated to our veterans. It could certainly feature a monument for our Vietnam veterans killed in action, but there are so many more also deserving of remembrance.

Such a park should have a monument to our more notable veterans. Capt. Willibald Bianchi, who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage in combat in the Phillippines, is certainly deserving of a monument. We don’t know if there is one in New Ulm that is highly visible. His courage in battle and as a prisoner of war, deserves to be memorialized.

Or Corporal Ben J. Seifert, New Ulm’s first casualty in World War I, killed in an airplane accident in England on April 2, 1918.

Or Seaman Second Class Clarence Aschenbrenner, one of the first recipients of the Navy Silver Star, for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity” while serving aboard the Light Cruiser U.S.S. Marblehead. After it was bombed by the Japanese in the Battle of the Java Sea on Feb. 10, 1942, his leadership, skill and strength in the repair efforts helped save the ship.

There is no shortage of worthy, heroic veterans deserving of the recognition a veterans park would provide. It is high time the city had one.

This offer to donate a Vietnam Veterans memorial is the spark the city needed to get it done.