South Dakota Vietnam War Memorial Dedication

South Dakota welcomed its Vietnam Veterans home with the South Dakota Vietnam War Memorial dedication held September 15-16, 2006 in the capitol city of Pierre. Hotels and campgrounds in Pierre, neighboring Fort Pierre, and towns for miles around were filled to capacity as Vietnam veterans and their families converged on the city for the dedication. Area residents showed their overwhelming support for the Vietnam veterans by displaying American flags, patriotic banners, and planters of red, white, and blue-violet flowers.

The event opened Friday at the Capitol Complex in Pierre. The displays included “The Wall”, a traveling replica of Washington D.C.’s Vietnam Veterans National Memorial, as well as the Fallen Sons and Daughters of South Dakota Remembrance Field, a field of white markers representing soldiers lost in the Vietnam War. 

The Agent Orange Quilt of Tears was also on display. The traveling Quilt is a tribute to those soldiers, both living and dead, who were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

A USO tent that served as a Welcome Center and Information Booth, food and souvenir vendors, and a live Vietnam radio show playing Vietnam War-era songs were also set up around the Capitol. A string of 1960s and 1970s muscle cars were entered in a car show at the complex. Vietnam-era helicopters offered free rides to veterans. Counseling services and the Find a Buddy Tent were also on hand to assist Vietnam veterans. 

An invitation-only ceremony was held Friday afternoon for Gold Star Mothers and other immediate family members of those who died in Vietnam and those who never came home. The KIA/MIA Family Remembrance ceremony allowed these family members a private early viewing of the South Dakota Vietnam War Memorial.

The Red Willow Band and the Beach Boys performed Friday night. Tickets to this and the following night’s concert were free to Vietnam veterans.