Not Forgotten
Minneota veterans Charles and Royal Hettling wanted to create a memorial for a group of local soldiers who were killed in the Vietnam WarBy Deb Gau
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The Vietnam War took the lives of six men with connections to Minneota, but there had never been a local memorial dedicated to them. It was a sacrifice that shouldn't be forgotten, Charles and Royal Hettling said.
"We wanted to do something that was the best we could get locally," said Charles Hettling. Over the past year, the Hettlings, Minneota brothers who are both Vietnam veterans, have been working to create a memorial, with engraved marble plaques of each soldier.
In a way, Royal Hettling said, now was a good time to give recognition to the local men who died in Vietnam. For a long time, no one would talk about the war, even veterans.
Now, he said, "We have come full circle. We've had the chance to reflect."
Five of the men who were killed in action, Richard Lozinski, Donald Culshaw, Lyle Leppke, Tom Bradley and Steven Gravlock, grew up in Minneota, Charles Hettling said. The family of the sixth, Dennis Anderson, have lived in the Minneota area for many years. Charles said he and Royal would also like to include Delbert Anschlager, who served in the war but died outside Vietnamese territory, in the memorial if possible.
"So now it's really seven people," he said.
The idea for a memorial had a longer story behind it, the brothers said. They had worked to bring the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to Minneota in 2006. Royal Hettling said they thought it would be appropriate to use money left over from the project for a local memorial.
"The foundation for the idea came from a World War II vet who called me," Charles Hettling said. The veteran had said something should be done for the soldiers, their families and the community. Charles said his personal experiences had also made him want to do that, too.
Charles said he once corresponded for about a year with the mother of a member of his unit in Vietnam, Ron Frizzell, after Frizzell was killed. She had written looking for anyone who knew her son, Charles Hettling said, and her letters were full of grief.
"They were all like that, 'Today we visited Ronald's grave.' There was a whole pile of them," Charles Hettling said. Other families had to have gone through the same thing.
In the end it was a trip back to Vietnam that led to the idea of carved portraits of the soldiers.
Charles had gone on a tour of the country, "just to see what it was like now," and while he was there he met a group of Vietnamese craftsmen who hand-engraved portraits on marble, using old photographs as models. It seemed like the perfect fit.
"The marble comes from Vietnam, and it's black and has the same reflective qualities as the Wall," Charles Hettling said.
He brought back portraits of himself and Frizzell to show Royal, and the brothers started contacting the fallen soldiers' families.
It was very important to work with the families, Charles Hettling said - a memorial would have some of the most personal meaning for them. Getting the news that a loved one was killed in action was devastating, especially since families often received little information about it.
"What's even sadder is that some of the families did not even have a decent picture" of their soldier before he died, Royal Hettling said.
"Some of them, boot camp photos were the only ones they had," added Charles Hettling.
At the same time they were talking with the families, the brothers said they also did research on each of the soldiers who died.
"Richard Lozinski was the first one from Minneota who was killed," Charles Hettling said. Lozinski had just two weeks left before he was set to come home. "They were expecting him to come back."
Other stories emerged. Steven Gravlock was an Air Force lieutenant whose plane was shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, Royal Hettling said. Lyle Leppke had only been in Vietnam for five days when he was killed while trying to protect an injured soldier.
Royal and Charles said they've gotten positive feedback from people they've shown the plaques to, and from members of the soldiers' families.
"There was one who wrote and said, 'I really appreciate what you're doing for us,'" Charles Hettling said.
"Some of the family members have asked if they could have one (plaque) for themselves," Royal Hettling said.
Charles Hettling said the carvings of the Minneota soldiers are "pretty much done," with some additional work left to do on a portrait of Richard Lozinski. The only photo of Lozinski from the war was too shadowy to work with, so the carvers tried to add details from other family photos.
"The only thing was his haircut," Charles Hettling said with a smile - the engravers made it too long for combat. "That's not the way the Marines did it, high and tight. They (the engravers) said, 'Oh, but we thought it would be more beautiful this way."
Royal and Charles said they had "differing" opinions on how the plaques should be displayed. They had thought about Memorial Park in downtown Minneota, but it might be too crowded. Charles said he thought the plaques should be displayed in a quieter place, along with other mementos of the soldiers or educational materials about the Vietnam War.
"We still have to meet with the city," to discuss possibilities, Royal Hettling said.
A local Vietnam memorial would honor the dead and comfort their families, but Charles and Royal said it would also be important for educating future generations.
"If we don't tell them or show them, all of this will be forgotten," Royal Hettling said.
