Dear Friends:

They left and came home one by one. These 28,000 native South Dakotans dutifully answered the call to service in Vietnam from 1961 to 1975, serving with dedication, honor and valor. In Vietnam, 207 South Dakotans died. Unlike many American veterans, Vietnam veterans had no parades, no handshakes and no "welcome home". Such celebrations were replaced by anti-war protests at airports, on street corners and on college campuses across America and in many gateway cities in route to South Dakota.

On September 15-16, 2006, the citizens of South Dakota will honor the bravery and sacrifice of our state’s Vietnam War veterans with the dedication of a 7-foot-tall bronze statue of a combat-weary Vietnam War soldier at the existing War Memorial site at Capitol Lake near the State Capitol. The dedication festivities will include a parade, traveling Vietnam Wall, Huey helicopter displays, fireworks, concerts, and much more.
 
Please join thousands of South Dakotans and me in Pierre, South Dakota, on
September 15-16, 2006, to honor the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines for their service and patriotism to South Dakota and to the United States of America.

Sincerely,

Governor Mike Rounds