A monument honoring the first servicemember from Kennewick killed in the Vietnam War will be rededicated following a community-led restoration effort. 

The ceremony for the memorial honoring Marine Cpl. Gerald Carmichael will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 in the grassy area next to the parking lot of the Fruitland School near the monument. Carmichael’s sisters and Kennewick Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Torelli will deliver remarks. 

Carmichael was a Kennewick High School student when he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965. He was killed in action on Oct. 15, 1966. He is buried at Riverview Heights Cemetery in Kennewick. 

The monument, a three-sided pyramid that sits in a traffic island at the intersection of Carmichael Drive, Garfield Street and Vineyard Drive, was built two years after the city renamed the short street along the canal between Kennewick Avenue and Vineyard Drive after him. 

The Veterans & Friends for Veterans Memorials in Kennewick, led by community member Kevin Veleke, redeveloped the site.  

The traffic island was rebuilt and monument reset while a ground cover of rocks and weeds was replaced by a concrete surface. A block wall installed behind the monument bears a new plaque as part of the reconstruction. 

“Cpl. Gerald Carmichael’s sacrifice in service to our country is well deserving of the reconstruction work and the dedication ceremony,” Veleke said. 

A number of veteran- and military-related groups also will participate in the event, including: 

• U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Center, Yakima 
• U.S. Marine Corps Kennewick Recruiting Office 
• Columbia River Young Marines 
• Tri-City Young Marines 
• Kennewick High School Air Force Junior ROTC 
• Hanford High School Army Junior ROTC 
• Veterans of Foreign Wars & American Legion 
• Veterans of all military branches 
• Vicki Evans (Bugler)