OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Memorial Day observances looked a bit different in Oshkosh this year, but that didn’t mean grilling wasn’t happening.
“It’s always kind of emotional looking at it and seeing his name, you know,” Bill Christianson of Oshkosh said. “It makes it real.”
The Sons of American Legion Squadron 70 in Oshkosh is trying to make that reality happen.
They hosted a drive-thru brat and hotdog fry to raise money to bring the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to the Sunnyview Exposition Center in Oshkosh this fall.
“The wall is about $10,000 to bring to Oshkosh, so we need to raise a lot of funds, in order to bring that wall to Oshkosh in October, so it’s very important to us,” said American Legion Squadron 70 member Mike Bennett. “Every dollar counts.”
Several events the American Legion had planned fell through, due to the pandemic. But with permission to host the drive-thru fry, members were out grilling non-stop.
“I’m glad to see there’s a good participation here, it’s very encouraging, so good for them,” said Christianson. “I hope, they make their goal today, I don’t think they’ll make it all, but they’re gonna do alright.”
The event heated up fast. Bennett tells FOX 11, within the first hour, nearly 350 brats and hotdogs were sold.
“We’ve been very busy this first part of the day, and it’s only been open for a little over an hour, so we’re excited for the rest of the day! We’ve ordered more meat, and we have more meat coming, so we’re ready for everybody.”
And while things weren’t quite the same this Memorial Day, what’s more American than a good old fashioned brat and hotdog to help honor those who maybe never got that privilege?
“It’s a very patriotic thing to do and, especially for the Vietnam era,” said Carlleen Christianson of Oshkosh. “They never got the praise they should’ve gotten.”
“All they got was their name chiseled into a wall, and that was it,” Bill Christianson said.
Bennett says it’s very important for them to pay tribute to those, who made the ultimate sacrifice, in the proper way
“That’s why we’re able to do it today and put it together the way we are doing it – to pay our right respects.”
Laying of the Wreaths and a Memorial Day service was also held at the Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh, before the cookout kicked off.
