Vietnam War Memorial, Firemans Park, Wentzville, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 48.696 W 090° 51.331
15S E 686195 N 4298054
Now offcially the first, Documented by the Department of the Interior, re-modeled and re-dedicated and certified as the First Vietnam Memorial in the Nation.
Waymark Code: WM3NK1
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2008
Views: 31
County of memorial: St. Charles County
Location of memorial: Pearce Blvd., next to fire house#1, Wentzville
Original built: 1967, re-model 2017
Certified by the Department of the Interior as the first, and rededicated, this memorial has now been taken over by the city, and it has pledged to maintain for ever.
Text on Marker:
Vietnam Veterans Memorial December 1967
"Whither Thou Goest I Will Go" Ruth. 1:16
History of Memorial:
The small town of Wentzville is about 40 miles west of St. Louis, on I-70. In December 1967 the citizens of Wentzville strung a 30-foot tree with lights in honor of the town's military men serving in Vietnam. The memorial's original intention was to raise funds to send Christmas gifts to local men and women serving in Vietnam.
The following year, two local artists created a sculpture for the site, and in 1984 a larger memorial was dedicated. The Wentzville Vietnam Veterans Memorial today is a tall column crafted of red Missouri granite, with an eagle perched at its top.
Many consider it the first Vietnam Memorial in the US.
The "Run-To-The-Wall" from the west always plans a weekend, at least, in Wentzville, MO. They stay at the VFW just south of town, and lay a wreath at this memorial every year, before continuing on to Washington, D.C.