To date, 126 local Vietnam veterans have been added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s In Memory program.
United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN)'s United for Veterans committee has been working diligently to add even more local names, and organizers expect the number to increase by the time The Wall That Heals arrives to Chisholm this June.
The program, which honors Vietnam veterans who returned home from Vietnam and have since passed away, will present digital images of local honorees at the Mobile Education Center while The Wall That Heals is in Chisholm.
Chisholm resident Mary Mickelson applied for her brother, Arthur "Jimmy" Toscano, to be included in the In Memory program. Arthur served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1968-1970.
Mickelson wanted to enroll her brother in the In Memory program to bring his memory “back to the forefront.”
“I thought it was a great way to honor him and his service in Vietnam,” she said.
Mickelson said she thought it was “wonderful” when she found out that UWNENMN would be hosting The Wall That Heals in Chisholm.
“It feels great to have such an important memorial in our hometown,” she said.
Families and friends can apply at any time for their loved one to be included in the In Memory program. However, the deadline for local veterans to be included when The Wall That Heals is in Chisholm has passed.
Other benefits of enrolling a loved one in the In Memory program include an invitation to the In Memory weekend in Washington, D.C., and to join the In Memory Facebook group as well as a veteran's personal remembrance page online.
See the In Memory program at the Mobile Education Center while The Wall That Heals is at the Chisholm Football Field June 23-26. To learn more, click here.