The Southeastern Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Veterans Park in Milwaukee has been restored and will be rededicated at 11 a.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. The public ceremony off North Lincoln Memorial Drive will include a bugler playing taps, a historical aircraft flyover and remarks from officials and veterans.
The memorial was built in 1991 for about $350,000. War Memorial Center president and CEO Maj. Gen. Brian Winski said restoring it cost about three times the original amount, with work that included a new gravel base, thicker sidewalks and a long-term plan for annual sealing and detailed cleaning and regrouting every five years.
At the center stand three columns made from 150,000 pounds of Wausau Red Granite, rising 22, 26 and 30 feet. They represent those killed in action, prisoners of war and missing in action, and those who returned home. All 2,946 bricks around the columns were replaced, including bricks grouped near the center for Wisconsin's six Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam War.
The restoration is part of a broader $14 million fundraising effort for the War Memorial Center as county funding fades. Winski said the center is about 80 percent of the way to its goal and the campaign is now in its public phase, supported by private and veterans group donations.
About 165,400 Wisconsinites served during the Vietnam era, according to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, and more than 1,200 died, with another 26 still listed as missing. The restored memorial will be able to accept at least 3,000 more brick orders, and a searchable interactive kiosk for visitors is planned for the future.
