FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX18) — As Veterans Day approaches, a non-profit held a memorial service in Frankfort on Saturday to ensure no Vietnam veteran from Kentucky is ever forgotten.
“As long as you say their name, they’re not forgotten,” said Jerry Cecil, Director of the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Cecil—himself a Vietnam veteran—helped lead this year’s ceremony, which honored every Kentuckian who served.
“Veterans Day is absolutely important because just 1% of the American population serves in the military,” he said. “And what you have here is you have these 1,110 Kentuckians out of the 15,000 that gave their life.”
The memorial, built in 1987 and funded entirely through donations, grows each year as new names are added. Last week, the name of Conrad Wheeler—a Vietnam aviator from Breckinridge County who died in October 1969—was engraved.
For Cecil, the memorial’s meaning is deeply personal.
“Well, it always means a lot to me because I have two men on here that were in Platoon Vietnam and from Kentucky,” he said.
“It means a lot to these veterans because they know people on here. Visiting here is a very moving thing,” Cecil said.
The memorial’s creation began with a small group of Vietnam veterans, later joined by corporate and community donors. Cecil says their mission remains the same: to keep the legacy alive for generations to come.
“This was built by donations—by a group of Vietnam veterans that started it, and then we got corporations and other people to help along,” he explained. This Veterans Day, the memorial stands not only as stone and names, but as a promise: their service will never be forgotten.
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