WATERTOWN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- This Memorial Day, the City of Watertown unveiled a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. The remembrance piece had a dedication ceremony Monday afternoon at Aero Park.

The traveling replica has made several stops across the country in recent years, but now it's found a permanent home in Watertown, where the public can visit it year-round.

A number of Vietnam veterans were at Monday's memorial. We spoke with one who shared his reaction after seeing the memorial for the first time.

"I have some friends on the wall here; I never got to see the one in Washington," said Walter Hladko, of Madison. "It's uh, well, I guess you could almost say it's a very personal thing. You know, I really don't know how to explain it to you."

Thousands of Wisconsinites served across all branches of the armed forces in Vietnam, including two Medal of Honor recipients: Kenneth Stumpf, from Neenah, and Gary Wetzel, from South Milwaukee.

More than 1,100 Wisconsinites are on the memorial wall in Watertown.