A monument has been erected on a grassy knoll in Ogdensburg’s Greenbelt dedicated to St. Lawrence County residents who died in the Vietnam War.

A dedication ceremony will take place on Dec. 9 at 2 p.m., and will include blessings by Ogdensburg clergy.

The event is open to the public.

The monument, donated by Michael Frary of Frary Funeral Home, is engraved with the names of the 32 county residents who gave their lives in Vietnam.

Each name is listed in alphabetical order, along with the person’s rank, military branch and date of death.

Donald B. Cooke, a member of Operation Veterans and one of the men who helped organize the monument, said the group wanted to thank all the people who donated time and money to make the monument a reality.

“Our hope and dream is that this monument becomes a place of peace and reflection,” said fellow Operation Veterans member Larry M. Caufield.

A marble bench dedicated to U.S. Air Force Major Maurice “Hal” Barry will be added to the monument in the spring. The bench, currently being worked on, was donated by Cindy Barry, Mr. Barry’s widow. Mr. Barry, former Ogdensburg school superintendent, served in six tours of duty in Vietnam.

Flag poles and a permanent lighting fixture will also be added to the monument in the future.

The new monument sits near where the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Moving Wall sat during its visit to Ogdensburg in 2011. That wall holds the names of 58,267 Americans who died during the conflict.

According to Mr. Caufield, there are currently more than 2,600 Vietnam-era veterans living in St. Lawrence County.

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