Photos by Deb Gau Above: Royal Hettling and Charlie Hettling talked about their plans for a display on the American dog handlers that served in the Vietnam War, at the Vietnam Memorial and History Center in Minneota.

MINNEOTA — His active duty in Vietnam ended in 1967. But in some ways, Charlie Hettling said, it’s like he never really left that country.

“Every day since I came back, I thought about Vietnam,” said Hettling, a Minneota resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran. At first, part of it was thinking about what the members of his unit still overseas were going through, he said. “I always wanted to go back.”

Over the years, Hettling has gone back to Vietnam — 32 times, he said. And Charlie and his brother Royal Hettling have continued to add to the Vietnam Memorial and History Center in Minneota. The center, located on Highway 68 in Minneota, honors Minneota area soldiers killed in the war, and has a growing collection of items related to the history of the Vietnam War.

Hettling got back from his latest trip to Vietnam earlier this month.

“It’s really changed a lot,” since the 1960s, he said. But every time he goes back, he finds something new for the history center.

Often, Hettling will learn more about the war from the perspective of Vietnamese people. The displays at the center include stories of civilians affected by the war, as well as artifacts like gear and homemade tools used by the Viet Cong.

Hettling said one of the newest items he’s brought back was a Vietnamese-made pack used for carrying a captured American military radio.

“I didn’t even know they had that,” Hettling said of the pack. It was a different style than the ones U.S. soldiers used, and he said, “It was not made for field use.” Instead, he said, it would’ve been used for carrying the radio around in a base camp.

The history center also has displays about the American side of the war. Charlie Hettling said some of the artifacts were contributed by area residents. A flight suit and helmet at the center belonged to Karl Porisch of Marshall, who served as a helicopter pilot with the Marines in Vietnam.

In one corner, the Hettlings are working to complete a display about the military dogs that served with American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Royal Hettling was a handler working with one of those dogs — a German shepherd named Thunder — when he was in Vietnam with the Air force from 1970 to 1971.

Royal Hettling said the dogs played an important role in scouting and sentry duty. “They saved over 10,000 American lives,” he said, but many of the dogs were euthanized when U.S. troops left Vietnam.

The Vietnam Memorial and History Center will be open today starting at 11:30 a.m., Hettling said.

“Usually Memorial Day and Boxelder Bug Days are our biggest days,” he said.

“Some (visitors) are very interested,” and stay a long time, Charlie Hettling said. “A lot of the ones that are, are older veterans or their families.”

The Hettlings said they hope visitors can learn from the Vietnam Memorial and History Center, and remember the men who fought in the war — both those who came home, and those who didn’t.