“We’ve always had a special place in our hearts for the vets of ‘Nam,” Brenda Richards said of the reason she has joined forces with Judy Chandler and Cleo Chandler, who is a Vietnam veteran himself, in an effort to put a Vietnam War Memorial on the courthouse lawn. “Vietnam was in our era,” she added. “That’s why we’re passionate about it. It’s because we lived it.”

Judy Chandler said, “My husband (Lonnie), two cousins and a lot of the boys I went to school with were over there. Three of those boys didn’t come back.” She also said, “They’ve never been recognized. These are men who were spit on when they came home.”

Commissioner Richard Martin brought the idea to the table at the commission meeting on Nov. 2, and commissioners approved it with the stipulation that the monument plans formally be presented to them for approval before installation. Richards and both Chandlers went before the Crawford County Commission on Nov. 9 to thank them for giving permission and to inform them that they were beginning the process of soliciting donations and looking for information about those from Crawford County who served in Vietnam.

“What’s great is the look on their faces when we tell them what we’re trying to do,” Judy Chandler said of the veterans they’ve talked to so far about the plan. “They get tears in their eyes,” added Richards.

At the Veterans Day ceremony held on the courthouse lawn, the three handed out an open letter to Crawford County citizens to ask for support in making this effort a reality. The letter stated the memorial will be for “all the men and women, living or deceased, who served during the Vietnam War. There are many of our friends and family members who gave their souls and more during this era.”

The group requests information regarding anyone from Crawford County who served in Vietnam so that their names may be placed on the memorial. They started the list with four names of locals who gave their lives in the war and are listed on the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. A copy of discharge papers will be requested to ensure accuracy.

An account has been set up at Peoples Bank for donations, and those are tax-deductible. The amount collected will determine what type of monument will be possible, but they hope for an octagonal stone pedestal where the names will be engraved surmounted by a sculptural piece depicting the three soldiers from Steelville who gave their lives in Vietnam. Their goal for dedication of the memorial is Veterans Day 2011.

It was noted there had been some questions on why this was not to include commemoration for those who served in Korea, too, and the group emphasized this was not intended to denigrate those soldiers in any way, but that their focus was the Vietnam War because of their personal experience with it.

For more information, contact Judy Chandler at 775-5024, Brenda Richards at 775-5985 or Cleo Chandler at 775-3870.