Permanent Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to be unveiled in Watertown on Memorial Day
BARRY ADAMS
Megan Klein, left, and her mother, Keri Klein, prepare aluminum panels for installation on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. The panels, part of a traveling wall since 2014, had to be removed from their frames so the frames could be adjusted to fit the permanent sloping wall in Watertown.
WATERTOWN — Just over a year ago, an ambitious project to build a slightly smaller version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in a city park here was only an idea.
U.S. Marine Corps veterans Glen Godfroy, left, and Travis Riggs affix engraved panels to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall at Marine Corps League-Aero Park Watertown. The wall is 80% the size of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and holds the names of more than 58,000 servicemen and women who were killed or missing in action during the war.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown is made of aluminum panels that had been part of a traveling wall engraved in 2014 in Texas by Watertown native Barry Lawrence. More than $600,000 was raised to buy the wall panels and prepare a site for it.
Marine Corps veteran Paul Riesen walks past names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. Among the more than 58,000 names are four servicemen from Watertown and 31 others from Dodge, Jefferson and western Waukesha counties.
Fundraising for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown didn’t begin until April 2025, with construction beginning in late October. The wall will be dedicated at 3 p.m. Monday.
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Glen Godfroy walks past names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. The wall, 20% smaller than the wall in Washington, D.C., will be dedicated on Monday.
Travis Riggs, a Marine Corps veteran, carries an aluminum panel to be installed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. The panels are 30 inches wide and range in height from 18 inches to 8 feet tall.
Steve Zillmer, commander of American Legion Post 189 in Watertown, spearheaded the fundraising efforts for a $450,000 effort to create a permanent Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. He ended up raising more than $600,000, the remainder of which will be used to create a maintenance fund.
U.S. Marine Corps veterans Glen Godfroy, left, and Travis Riggs affix engraved panels to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall at Marine Corps League-Aero Park Watertown. The wall is 80% the size of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and holds the names of more than 58,000 servicemen and women who were killed or missing in action during the war.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown is made of aluminum panels that had been part of a traveling wall engraved in 2014 in Texas by Watertown native Barry Lawrence. More than $600,000 was raised to buy the wall panels and prepare a site for it.
Travis Riggs, a Marine Corps veteran, carries an aluminum panel to be installed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. The panels are 30 inches wide and range in height from 18 inches to 8 feet tall.
Marine Corps veteran Paul Riesen walks past names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. Among the more than 58,000 names are four servicemen from Watertown and 31 others from Dodge, Jefferson and western Waukesha counties.
Megan Klein, left, and her mother, Keri Klein, prepare aluminum panels for installation on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. The panels, part of a traveling wall since 2014, had to be removed from their frames so the frames could be adjusted to fit the permanent sloping wall in Watertown.
Fundraising for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown didn’t begin until April 2025, with construction beginning in late October. The wall will be dedicated at 3 p.m. Monday.
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Glen Godfroy walks past names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. The wall, 20% smaller than the wall in Washington, D.C., will be dedicated on Monday.
Steve Zillmer, commander of American Legion Post 189 in Watertown, spearheaded the fundraising efforts for a $450,000 effort to create a permanent Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Watertown. He ended up raising more than $600,000, the remainder of which will be used to create a maintenance fund.
