Texas student designed a sculpture to honor Vietnam veterans. Now it will be a memorial.

The Vietnam War was fought many years before Ryan Scieneaux was even born.

But, like many of history’s major events, it continues to affect the lives of many who were there and many others who have heard the stories. Scieneaux, a freshman at the University of North Texas and 2020 graduate of White Settlement Brewer High School, has heard the tales and listened.

The talented artist created a sculpture to honor those who fought in Vietnam, winning top prize in the Tarrant County Vietnam War Era Memorial competition.

Scieneaux’s winning design is a tree with several leaves hanging from it, listing the Tarrant County residents who died serving during that era. The leaves will display the person’s name, branch of service, date of death and hometown.

According to Scieneaux, the tree represents life.

“Just as a dying tree gives way for new trees to grow, those who fought in the Vietnam War sacrificed their lives so that ours could be better,” Scieneaux said.

Scieneaux said nature serves as a big inspiration, so the idea to sculpt a tree came pretty naturally. The tree has symbolism that accurately represented the message.

“The message I was trying to get across in this sculpture is that the seeds that are planted in the past will still greatly affect the future. Specifically, with the Vietnam War Memorial, those who fought in the war sacrificed things and their lives for our country, and those things still affect our nation to this day,” Scieneaux said.

Memorial a team effort

As the competition winner, Scieneaux will receive $500 from the memorial committee. Co-competitors and second place finishers, Emili Fazi and Phoebe Haygood, both sophomores at Calvary Christian Academy, will be awarded $300. Third-place winners, Aaron Miller and Duha Kim, also from Calvary Christian, will share $200 in recognition of their creative efforts.

“Although the judges and committee liked all three finalists and aspects of all designs, the winning design by Ryan Scieneaux stood out,” said Jim Hodgson, memorial project leader and executive director of the Fort Worth Aviation Museum.

Scieneaux is collaborating with local sculptor Michael Pavlosky to finalize the design based on input from the judges and the city’s parks department. Pavlosky specializes in bronze sculptures, and he recently completed a lobby sculpture for the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.

Students across the region were challenged to design the memorial, according to Hodgson. He said the proposed effort is backed by a coalition of Tarrant County officials, the Fort Worth Parks & Recreation Department, national and local veterans service organizations, as well as patriotic groups and individuals across North Texas.

“At least 211 Tarrant County residents died as a result of the conflict,” Hodgson said. “Currently, there’s no local monument to honor those killed in Southeast Asia, but that will soon be changing.”

Eventually, the sculpture will go on permanent display in Veterans Memorial Park at 4120 Camp Bowie Blvd., he said.

Versatile background

Scieneaux also plays the violin and piano, has been involved in theater and has taken on multiple roles, as well as set design and building for various productions.

“I’ve been passionate about art ever since I was a little kid. Growing up, I would always be drawing and coloring,” Scieneaux said. “I remember when I was around the age of 8, I was really jealous of how well my older brother could draw trains, and that is the first time I remember buckling down and deciding to get better at drawing. Around seventh grade is when I started to get serious about my art and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Scieneaux is majoring in mathematics but is also pursuing a minor in studio art with a concentration in drawing and painting.

“It is something I am very passionate about and I would like to be able to continue doing it throughout the rest of my life,” Scieneaux said.

The memorial committee originally planned for a ceremonial groundbreaking in September to coincide with the Medal of Honor Society’s national convention in Arlington. However, the dates of that gathering have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The committee is now considering a groundbreaking in mid-November.

A Facebook page dedicated to the project has been launched at facebook.com/TCVWM/. An interactive website has also been launched at vieteramemorial.org.

This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 6:00 AM.