The Nation's First Vietnam War Memorial - Wentzville, MO - Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

County of marker: St. Charles County
Location of marker: Pearce Blvd., next to fire house#1, Wentzville
Erected by: Wentzville, MO
Erected: 2017

Marker Text:

THE NATION'S FIRST
Vietnam War Memorial Originally dedicated Dec. 7, 1967, this is the very first memorial in the Unite States that recognized soldiers of the Vietnam War. During the 1967 dedication, attendees stood in the freezing rain to pay tribute to those who were serving in this armed conflict.

Today, the memorial serves as a remembrance of those who fought and served. The memorial was renovated and expanded in 2017 in honor of the 50th anniversary.

The Vietnam War/s Major Battles
[Large ball designated map] The Vietnam War was a lang, costly , armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies (Known as the Viet Cong), against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The War began in 1954 (though regional conflicts stretch back the the Mid-1940's), after the rise to power of HO Chi Minh and his Communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two Global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union.

More than three million people (including more than 50,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. By 1969, at the peak of U.S. involvement in the war, more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were involved in the Vietnam conflict. Growing opposition to the war in the United States led to a division among Americans, both before and after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. personnel in 1973. In 1975, communist forces seized control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic the following year.

HONORED AND
REMEMBERED

IN MEMRY OF
PFC Robert W.
SMITH
US Army
Aug. 2, 1947 - NOV 12, 1966
[image of Robert]

Robert William Smith
Private First Class

Robert had just arrived in Vietnam
two day prior to a skirmish with North
Vietnamese force. Hedied of multiple
fragmentation wounds from mortar
shrapnel in Tâly Ninh, Vietnam. Tâly Ninh
served as the base for the 196th light
Infantry Brigade. Robert was laid to rest
in the Eternal Peace Cemetery,
here in Wentzville

His name appears on panel 12E, line 064
on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in
Washington, D.C.

---

IN MEMORY OF
PO 2nd CL Dale R.
ROSS
US Navy
APRIL 23, 1947 - JULY 29, 1967
[Image of Dale]

Dale Ray Ross
Petty Officer Second Class

Dale was stationed on board th USS
Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin,
North Vietnam. A five-inch Zuni rocket
accidentally fired across a crowed
flight deck, impacting an armed
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk aircraft, killing
135 crewmen, including PO2 Ross who
is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
in Washington D.C.

His name appears on panel 24E, line 042
of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall
in Washington D.C.
Both Robert William Smith and Dale Ray Ross were Wentzville residence at the time of their deaths

History of Mark: During the expansion and upgrade of the memorial in 2017 this marker was erected and a mural was pout into place on the west wall of the Western Auto store across the parking lot, east of here. Web link: Not listed Additional point: Not Listed

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