Vietnam veterans may soon have a new monument honoring their service and sacrifices. Plans are in the works to build an elaborate memorial for Texas Vietnam veterans on the grounds of the State Capitol.

More than 500,000 Texans served in the Vietnam War.

Austin Resident Al Erwin was one of them.

"When we came home, what you did was forget about it -- you didn't talk about it," he said.

Erwin says times have changed since then, and now he and his fellow soldiers are being honored for their service.

Earlier this month, a monument that sat neglected along Interstate 35 for years was cleaned up and restored. In April a new Vietnam Memorial was dedicated on the grounds of the Texas State Cemetery.

Erwin says he pleased with the support,

"We learned a lot of hard and bitter lessons in Vietnam that were very painful to all of us. One of those lessons we learned after the war is don't confuse the soldier with the war, and don't confuse the soldier with the political movement that started the war," he said.

A group called the Texas Capital Vietnam Monument Committee now wants to put a huge memorial with life-size soldiers at the Capitol. It will include five infantry men -- a Native American, Hispanic, Caucasion, African American, as well as a wounded South Vietnamese Marine.

Robert Floyd with the Texas Vietnam Monument Committee says it's one of the few memorials to include a soldier from Vietnam.

"It's important they see this as something that recognizes their contributions as well," he said.

The memorial will cost about $1.5 million to build. The committee has so far raised about 10 percent of the money needed.

Floyd hopes the public will step forward to help.

"I think the Capitol grounds gives us an opportunity for school children to see the monument. Maybe it will raise some issues and questions that can be discussed about a war most American would like to forget about," Floyd said.

The goal is to have the monument be completed by May 2010.