During World War II
members of the Ninth Infantry Division earned the title of the Old
Reliables.
The division, which was reactivated for the Vietnam War, lost
2,624 men and had 18,831 wounded. Now two local men have completed their
effort to dedicate a memorial in honor of the division at Fort Snelling National
Cemetery.
Mike Clark of Anoka and Doug Johnson of Champlin, two medics
of the division in Vietnam, worked for a year to raise the funds necessary
to build the memorial, which was dedicated Oct. 4.
"It was great experience," Johnson said. "We got a lot of support
from guys all over the country who had served in the division."
"Some guys would call me on the phone, and they would be crying
because they were so pleased that there was going to be a memorial to the
division," Clark said.
The Ninth Division, which served with distinction in World War
II, earning the Old Reliables nickname, was deactivated. The division was
reactivated at Fort Riley, Kan., in early 1966. The division again served
its country well. When the war ended, 10 men in the infantry had earned the
nation's highest award - the Medal of Honor.
Clark served until September 1967 when he was wounded
in action and sent to a hospital in the States to recuperate. Johnson served
his entire 12-month tour. Neither man knew each other then.
Johnson joined the Vietnam Veterans Chapter 470 of Anoka
County in 1992. Clark was a member since the chapter's inception in 1989.
It was then that both men learned they had been medics with the division
in the same places at the same time.
A few years ago the national cemetery opened
its main road for memorials. The two men's fund drive began late last summer,
raising the $3,000 needed for the memorial in about seven months.
On a windy blustery day, more than 100 people attended the dedication.
Honor volleys were fired, taps was played and a bell clanged nine times to
honor those who died in service and died after the war.
"Fort Snelling National Cemetery is one of the best maintained national
cemeteries in the country and the memorials just enhance the dignity and
beauty of the cemetery, making it a very fitting final resting place for
American veterans," Clark said.
The memorial, located on Mallon Road, contains symbols on it in honor
of the infantry and medics who served in combat, and especially those who
were injured or killed.
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Mike Clark delivers
the dedication speach |
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Honor volleys were fired
during the dedication ceremony for a memorial placed in honor of those who
served in the Ninth Infantry Division in the Vietnam War.
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Doug Johnson of Champlin
and Mike Clark of Anoka stand next to the stone placed in honor of those
who served in the Ninth Infantry Division in the VietnamWar. Clark and Johnson
organized a year-long effortto raise the funds necessary to dedicate the
memorial. |
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