WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Portions of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington will be shut down for five months in 2004 as the memorial is renovated, the National Park Service said.
In a statement released jointly with Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the non-profit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, NPS Acting Superintendent Vikki Keys said the memorial's 19-year-old lighting system will be replaced in renovations likely to take place from June through October.
The Memorial Fund will pay more than $1 million for the project.
"We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this project may cause to visitors to the Memorial. We ask that the veterans community, tour groups and the media help make the public aware of this improvement to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial," Scruggs and Keys said in the statement.
The closing comes as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., appears set to win the Democratic nomination for the 2004 presidential election. Kerry, a lieutenant in the Vietnam War, was wounded in the conflict and later became a war protester.
