The monument and benches honor six men who graduated from New Ulm schools who were killed in action during the Vietnam War: Dennis Wellmann, Daniel Lloyd, Henry Polzin, Timothy Sullivan, Steven Seemann and Rickey Slander.

The placement of the memorial in German Park was approved by the city last year. The design, construction and installation of the memorial was through private funding and donations.

Multiple construction crew members donated their time and talents to install the memorial, including Aaron Lambrect of Squared Konstrucktion, Brent Kollmann of Kollmann Construction and Nick Meidl of Meidl Construction.

The memorial includes two granite panels. The south side of the panels includes the names of the six New Ulm men who were killed in action and a poem dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans. The north side of the panels includes a history of the Vietnam conflict from its origins to the impact in had on the United States.

Photo by Clay Schuldt The south side of the granite panels is the more poignant side, listing the six servicemen who died during the war who graduated from New Ulm schools: Dennis Wellmann, Daniel Lloyd, Henry Polzin, Timothy Sullivan, Steven Seemann and Rickey Slander.

Six benches were installed near the panel. Each panel is dedicated to one of the six New Ulm veterans killed in action. The side of each bench features engraved writing that was chosen by a family member of the veteran.

The original memorial donor, Bruce Lambrecht was on site to see the final installation Friday. Lambrecht was inspired to create a memorial honoring these men because he attended high school with them and considered them his friends.

“They went to Vietnam and didn’t come back,” Lambrecht said. “I’ve always felt that the city should thank all of them for their sacrifice, and their families should know that their home town will never forget what they did.”

With the memorial in place, Lambrecht hoped it could keep the story of these men and what happened in Vietnam in the public’s memory.

A formal dedication ceremony for the memorial will be held 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13. in German Park. A special musical performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the State Street Theater. The Fabulous Armadillos will present a concert called “What’s Going On?” featuring songs from the Vietnam War era.