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Monroe County, Michigan, Chapter 142 received its VVA charter
in 1984. The next year, the Chapter decided to build a memorial
honoring all Monroe County soldiers who served their country
during the Vietnam War. After an ambitious and successful
campaign to finance the project through public, private,
and corporate donations, the Monroe County Vietnam Veterans
Memorial was dedicated on May 17, 1987, in Heck Park.
The
memorial is named after Capt. Norman W. “Rusty” Heck
of Ida, Michigan, who was killed in Vietnam in December 1964.
In 1991, a Huey helicopter gunship was added to the memorial,
and a second helicopter, a Cobra, was dedicated on the site
in 1994.
On May 10, many Chapter members were on hand at Heck
Park, where they joined local officials, including World
War II veteran U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell and uniformed active-duty
military personnel, for the dedication of the missing component
of the Memorial: a bronze statue of a servicewoman to commemorate
women who served overseas during the Vietnam War.
“Everyone who visits this park knows we haven’t
forgotten” the women who served in the Vietnam War
and elsewhere during the Vietnam War era, said Chapter 142
President Don Reed.
“This is an important day,” Glenn R. Podhola,
a Chapter past president and the current secretary, said
in his remarks at the ceremonies. “It is the culmination
of a lot of years of hard work. Our mission is complete.”
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2008, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8605 Cameron
Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910