Memorial honoring Vietnam veterans holds grand opening in Perryville

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — One Vietnam War veteran makes a promise. Making good on one simple promise affected his community, all who served and all who come to see what he made.

If he survived the war, he said, he would create a monument to honor all who fought with him.

Jim Eddleman is that soldier.

Perryville is the community.

Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial is that monument.

A grand opening celebration for the memorial wall was held Saturday and Sunday. The monument, which was completed in 2017, is an exact replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Eddleman and his wife, Charlene, donated 47 acres of their family farm and some of the funds to build the memorial wall.

More than 58,000 names on the black granite wall are listed in chronological order of the battles in which they were killed or reported missing.

“The monument was meant to be contemplative,” said Alisa Pingel, a volunteer wall guide.

The names are displayed in such a way to be separated out so each name stands out. Some names have a diamond symbol at the end to denote they have been reported as a casualty of the war. Others have a cross, meaning a death has not been confirmed. The granite was taken from the same quarry used for the remembrance wall in Washington.

The wall in Perryville has people who visit it regularly, such as Charles Higgins. He has also been to the wall in Washington four times.

Higgins of Bloomsdale, Missouri, visits every Saturday to remember his brother, Hershel.

“If he does not show up, we worry,” Pingel said.

This weekend’s event followed about 15 months of preparation by the Eddlemans and many volunteers. Those in attendance Saturday included Gov. Mike Parson; David Crader, a U.S. Navy Veteran and president of Reliable Community Bancshares, the holding company for The Bank of Missouri, which is a major donor to the project; U.S. Rep. Jason Smith; and Jim Knotts, chief executive officer and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the not-for-profit organization that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982. Linda Hovis, Jim Eddleman’s sister, gave the invocation. Knotts was the keynote speaker. Nancy Guth is the executive director of the site.

Crader provided background on Eddleman and how his dream of the monument came into being.

“For a long time, Jim pondered on how he could make good on that promise. He worked as a meat cutter, and a farmer in Perry County,” Crader said.

Crader said Eddleman’s efforts remind people of the importance of what they do with their lives and what they do with their promises. Eddleman provided the vision and the hard work to keep that vision alive, Crader said. The monument would make sure the next generation knows about history, he said.

Parson spoke about the importance of the American dream and how he was sure most of the people in attendance had lived the American dream.

“I truly did not understand it until I served this country,” said Parson, a U.S. Army veteran. “It was always about the people who wore the uniform before me. What people have done in our history to pass down basic rights. It is our time to pass that to the next generation, the ability to have the American dream. The American dream is worth fighting for. It always has been.”

Jim Eddleman also spoke.

“This field used to grow corn, now it grows people, and I got a good crop,” he said.

Knotts gave the keynote address.

“When the Vietnam vets came home, they were told to take off their uniforms, grow your hair long, and don’t tell anyone you were in the Vietnam War,” he said. “That time is gone.”

In addition to the memorial wall, the area also includes a welcome center and a museum.

More information about Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial may be found at www.mnvmfund.org.