On a hill overlooking the St. Lawrence River, military heroes will be honored eternally.

The St. Lawrence County Vietnam Memorial was dedicated in Ogdensburg’s Greenbelt this week.

“It was a cold, crisp day, but there was a great spirit out there,” said Larry Caulfield, who was master of ceremonies. “We had between 50 to 55 people come out to support us.”

The memorial honors 32 St. Lawrence County residents who were killed in action during the Vietnam War and commemorates the 2011 appearance of the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall in Ogdensburg.

The Rev. Robert J.D. Longbottom of St. John’s Church in Ogdensburg and the Bishop Terry R. LaValley of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg officiated at the service.

At the ceremony, members of Operation Veterans and Amvets Post 19 announced a $7,000 donation to the Vietnam Moving Wall Education Center in Washington, D.C. The donation was from funds left over when several military organizations brought the Moving Wall to Ogdensburg last year.

“The people of Ogdensburg were very generous,” Mr. Caulfield said.

The memorial was donated by Frary Funeral Homes as a gift to the city and the county. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2936 served as color guard. Lucinda A. Barry, widow of Maurice H. “Hal” Barry, former Ogdensburg school superintendent who served six tours of duty in Vietnam, gave a marble bench that will be in place by Memorial Day, Mr. Caulfield said.

The highlight of the ceremony was reciting the names of 32 county residents who died while serving in Vietnam. A bell, rung by Danielle Caulfield, tolled as each name was announced. The clergy led a blessing and a litany of prayers.

Richard C. Fox, of Fox & Murray Funeral Home & Cremation Services, donated the flag and mount, which now stands behind the monument. Basta’s Flower Shop donated the wreath for the ceremony.

The following are the 32 servicemen who were killed in action during the Vietnam War: William Kralick, George Balazy, Douglas Murray, Roger H. Coye, Robert V. Wood, Douglas R. Colbert, Paul Conroy Jr., Ronald Southworth, Harold J. Anable, Franklin C. Lewis, Kenneth F. Backus, William S. McBroom, Wayne A. Murray, Harold G. Beane Jr., Charles L. Howe, Leo B. Gunning, Raymond L. Cook, Harley B. Roberts, Carles F. Rubado, Timothy Carmody, Gerald R. Roy, Steven J. Riggs, Edward Cayey Jr., Robert B. Markum, Bernard G. Purvis, Larry E. Christie, Alan B. Denhoff, Rocky A. Burns, Archie E. Trimm, Edward O. Burkett, Robert E. Simmons and Michael H. Mein.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer