Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Wall dedicated in Appleton

Civic Media’s John Maino, co-host of Maino and the Mayor, contributed to this report.

APPLETON, WI—(WISS)— Hundreds of people took time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War in Appleton yesterday (April 30, 2025) with a solemn dedication of the Wisconsin Vietnam Veterans Wall.

The memorial at 2508 North Richmond Street in Appleton is the only permanent wall honoring the over 1200 Wisconsin Veterans who died in the Vietnam War. Vets & Friends Coffee House, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides free meals to veterans raised the funds for and built the memorial. 

The stories of veterans

Family members, friends, and veterans who served in Vietnam attended the dedication ceremony on April 30, 2025.

“It’s very difficult to not find someone that you knew when you were over there. I know that in my own class in Neenah High School–the Class of ‘65–We lost several. And I’ve been out here with several friends. They walk straight to their county, and they all know somebody who’s been there.” said Jim Marohn, a veteran at the ceremony. “When I look back, we were all 19-years-old or so. We were kids! I don’t think any of us really believed in what was going on over there in Vietnam. But at that time, it was the draft.”

Terry Judkins served in Vietnam. So did his twin brother, who did not come home.

“We both enlisted. I  went into the Army. He went into the Navy. He wanted to be a paramedic. So he became a medical corpsman, and darned if he didn’t get transferred into the Marines as a medic. So then you have him in the Northern part of Vietnam, and me right below him.” Judkins said. “For my mother, who was raising five children by herself, to have twins in a warzone was horrible!”

Made up of 17 aluminum panels with names, photographs, and biological information of the Wisconsin soldiers who died in the Vietnam War, the monument is 7-feet high and more than 50-feet long.

The monument, built late last year, is free to visit any time, day or night, thanks to motion-sensor lights.