Standing tall in front of the Black River Coliseum in a circle are granite columns. Most of the columns are blank; one column contains names of Butler County residents who died in the Vietnam War. That column was officially unveiled Thursday morning.
The ceremony was officiated by the Poplar Bluff Vietnam Veterans Association Chapter 1056, and was officially recognized by the city with a proclamation presented by Poplar Bluff Mayor Shane Cornman.
VVA Chapter President Larry Kimbrow welcomed and acknowledged all guests before the presentation of colors that was performed by the Poplar Bluff High School JROTC Color Guard.
As part of the dedication program, all attending members of the Poplar Bluff VVA chapter came forward and took turns reading the names of the 26 men who died and have their names carved into the granite monument.
“I’m so happy we have been able to do this,” Kimbrow noted. “This has been coming for a while, and we kind of got this ceremony put together abruptly. But seeing so many people here is really testament to how many people feel about the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters.”
After the retiring of the colors, Kimbrow encouraged the crowd to gather inside the circle of granite towers as the monument was officially unveiled.
“You can see most of these columns are empty,” Kimbrow remarked. “The plan is to work our way backwards, where we put the names of Butler County veterans from the Korean war on the next one, and then veterans from WWII, and then WWI.
“If it’s possible we would like to even include the names of those who fell during the Civil War, from both sides. But I’ll probably be in the ground before that happens.”
Kimbrow thanked everyone for participating and attending the ceremony.
“Things like this make us feel welcomed and let us know that people haven;t forgotten,” Kimbrow stated. “And with the monument, they won’t forget.”