CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS — From this circa 1992 photo, employees of Kallin Johnson Monument Co. of Fort Dodge are shown preparing to pour concrete into forms. The concrete was used as a base to support the granite tablets of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

From this photo circa 1992, employees from Kallin Johnson Monument Co. of Fort Dodge and the Central Iowa Vietnam Veterans Impact Committee (CIVVIC) view a completed tablet which made up a portion of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial monument. Shown sixth from left is Vic Hellberg of Marshalltown. Hellberg, along with 18 others, was a member of CIVVIC.

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Editor’s Note: This is the final story in a series of nine honoring the 32 men from Grundy, Hardin, Marshall and Tama counties who perished during the Vietnam War including one man considered as missing-in-action. From Nov. 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975, conflicts raged in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Nearly 3 million service men and women served in the Southeast Asia theater — of which 115,000 Iowans served in Vietnam. The war claimed the lives of 58,220 Americans including 868 Iowans. There were an estimated 250,000 South Vietnamese troops killed, according to military sources. As a tribute, the Times-Republican listed the rank, full name, branch of service, hometown, and, if available, date of birth, death, age and burial location of those who perished and MIA. All information was obtained courtesy of the Central Iowa Vietnam Veterans Involvement Committee (CIVVIC) archives, findagrave.com and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s “Wall of Faces.” Dan Gannon, a Vietnam combat veteran, provided the Iowa Vietnam War Memorial Directory of Names. Kennan Seda, historian of the Sons of the American Legion Post 73 in Tama, provided biographical details. Additional information was submitted by family and friends. The eighth story — published May 8 — featured Maj. Bradley Eugene Cuthbert, a USAF pilot who resided in Marshalltown with his family before being deployed to Vietnam. His son and daughter consider him MIA. Today’s installment features the history and construction of the Central Iowa Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

A seven-foot tall by 24-foot-wide granite monument stands in silent testimony to the 32 central Iowa men who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of freedom in southeast Asia. Also shown is the name of one pilot considered missing in action.

It is dedicated “To Those Lives Affected by Vietnam.” Fittingly, the centerpiece depicts a woman and two children – one of them holding a U.S. flag. The trio also represents grieving brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and friends. To the centerpiece’s left are two granite tablets listing two deceased from Grundy County and 15 from Marshall County. To the right are two granite tablets with the names of 10 deceased from Tama County and four from Hardin County.

The memorial is on the grounds of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. The groundbreaking was July 4, 1991 and ribbon-cutting on Memorial Day, May 25, 1992. Then Iowa governor Terry Branstad, current U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and the late IVH Commandant Jack Dack were joined by a host of dignitaries and family members of the deceased.

“The granite tablets are eight-inch thick and placed in ‘V’ formation facing southeast toward Vietnam,” said Vic Hellberg of Marshalltown. He served on the CIVVIC committee, which was responsible for the fundraising, design, construction and installation of the monument. Working in tandem with Vic was his spouse Gayle Hellberg.

Vic served in the U.S. Navy on a supply ship during the Vietnam War and is the son of a World War II combat veteran – the late Hjalle Hellberg.

Joining Hellberg on CIVVIC were 19 others, according to committee archives. They were Tom Donald Blake, Gail Boliver, Frank Burggraaf, Cheryl Clark, Dave Fleming, Gari Fuller, Brian Johnson, Jerry Klosterman, Jill Klosterman, Carol Lane, J.W. Latham, Jr., Gerald Lura, Joel McAnulty, Julie McElroy, Rex McElroy, Jody Lane-Moldari, Connie Montover (Cuthbert’s spouse), David Morean, Robert Schubert, Lorraine Schultz and Tom Stevenson.

“My late mother served passionately on CIVVIC,” said Sharon Cuthbert Sassen – Cuthbert’s daughter. “She wanted to honor the 32 deceased and my father. I do not believe we have closure on his status. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officials only found two of his teeth which is not enough for us.”

Over a three-year period, the committee aggressively fundraised $65,000. It was not-for-profit.

“At the memorial one can stand “eye to eye” with the names of the airmen, marines, sailors and soldiers who perished or are missing in action,” Hellberg said.

Jerry Witty, then administrative engineer at IVH, volunteered his time on weekends to prepare the site for construction, Hellberg said.

“The late IVH commandant Jack Dack and his adjutant Lowell Bartel were critical to the successful completion of the monument once the committee voted IVH was a fitting location,” Hellberg said. “Cheryl Clark, then employed at Fisher Controls of Marshalltown, designed the monument. It was built and installed by Kallin Johnson Monument Co. of Fort Dodge. Now, 33 years later, it stands with other monuments from the Civil War to Vietnam who paid the ultimate sacrifice, served and fought for freedom.”