Remember Them: A Memorial

This memorial, dedicated June 27, 2024, speaks to the community's commitment to recognizing local heroes who gave their lives in the line of service. It is located at the Cedar Creek Conservation Park in Oak Grove, constructed of rough-hewn stone, locally created statuary, and a singular effort of the committee to raise funds within Anoka County.

Memorial timeline

Specialist Leslie Lawrence Cowden

Vietnam Memorial Wall: Washington D.C.
Panel/Line: 37E/8
Date of Birth: August 24, 1946
Date of Casualty: February 3, 1968
Home of Record: Cedar, Anoka County, MN
Branch of Service: United States Army

Early Life and Education

Specialist Leslie Lawrence Cowden was born in 1946 in Cedar, the second oldest of five children who attended St. Francis High School. At age 18, Cowden joined the Army and went to Germany. He volunteered to serve after hearing about the desperate need for medics in Vietnam.

Military Service

Cowden began his tour as a replacement with the 25th Infantry Division, known as the “Tropic Lightning” division. They set up base camp at Cu Chi, northeast of Saigon, unknowingly located above the most extensive network of tunnels the Viet Cong had dug.

The division was responsible for securing Hau Nghia and Tay Ninh provinces so Saigon would not feel the constant threat of enemy forces from that heavily Viet Cong-fortified area. Daily tasks for the men of the 25th Infantry Division included guarding vital installations, keeping roads open and operational, guarding the nearby hamlets, and disrupting enemy political activities and force operations. For the men of the 25th, this meant daily search and destroy operations rotated with pacification efforts. The Ho Bo and Boi Loi woods just north of Cu Chi proved difficult and dangerous areas, which they became familiar with during the constant struggle to secure them from the grasp of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army.

Acts of Heroism

Cowden’s day-to-day events have been lost, but his heroic actions have survived in the memories of those he saved. On Jan. 8, 1968, Jon Hovde sat in the driver’s seat of the lead armored personnel patrolling Rome Plows, digging paths through the thick jungle. When instructed to move around two of the tanks also present on this patrol, Hovde’s vehicle detonated an antitank mine, ejecting the engine and throwing all but two men from the vehicle, including Hovde. Cowden responded quickly, crawling back into the personnel carrier, despite his injuries, to pull Hovde from the remains. Hovde later reported that Cowden’s hair caught fire during the rescue, but he ignored it to focus on his patient, leaving other men to put it out. After initially believing Hovde to be dead, Cowden left to tend to another injured soldier before being called back to Hovde’s side. It took only 15 minutes for Cowden to pull Hovde from the wreckage, get him stabilized, and transport him to the 12th Evac Hospital and into the operating room. As Hovde recalls, “I was losing so much blood Cowden doubted I’d make it, but there was no way he was giving up.”

Cowden was killed less than a month later, only days after the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive. On Feb. 3, 1968, Bravo and Charlie companies were doing reconnaissance operations, searching for suspected rocket sites, when enemy forces ambushed and forced them to call in air support. Four armored personnel carriers from Bravo and Charlie companies were moving through the Ho Bo Woods, around the border between Hau Nghia and Binh Duong provinces approximately 19 miles north-northwest of Saigon, when they drove into a three-sided ambush.

Bravo Company’s armored personnel carrier #34 was in the lead, triggering the ambush of Viet Cong forces armed with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. A four-man rescue unit was called in to rescue APC #34, but of the three men, only the weapons loader was found and brought to the company’s medic, believed to be Cowden, for treatment. While APC #34 was under attack, Charlie Company’s APC #33 struck an antitank mine, killing its driver. During this engagement with enemy forces, Cowden died of multiple fragmentation wounds from a grenade or mortar-type explosive. His remains were recovered, and Cowden is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Anoka.

Legacy and Honors

Spc. Cowden posthumously received recognition for his actions that saved the lives of his comrades, including:

Cowden Silver Star Medal (Object ID 2018.1810.001)

Bronze Star for “Meritorious Achievement in Ground Operations Against Hostile Forces”
Silver Star for gallantry
Purple Heart Oct. 2, 1968
Army Good Conduct medal
Vietnam Service medal
Vietnam Military Merit Medal (awarded posthumously by the Republic of Vietnam)
National Defense Service medal

Learn more about Cowden by reading Hovde's “Left For Dead” or visiting the Anoka County Historical Society.

Sergeant Peter Burr Hedlund

Vietnam Memorial Wall: Washington D.C.
Panel/Line: 38E/50
Date of Birth: February 16, 1944
Date of Casualty: February 9, 1968
Home of Record: Cedar, Anoka County, MN
Branch of Service: United States Marine Corps

Captain Peter Hedlund demonstrates the double leg tackle with Eugene Stevens (courtesy of the family)

Early Life and Education

Peter Hedlund grew up on a small farm about a mile from the Cedar Creek Conservation Area in the small community of Cedar, Minnesota. Cedar Creek ran through the northern part of the Hedlund property. Born on February 16, 1944, Peter was the fourth of six children. He and his siblings attended the first six grades in a one-room schoolhouse in Cedar, eventually finishing their schooling at St. Francis Public High School in St. Francis, Minnesota.

During high school, Peter excelled in wrestling, becoming the team captain in his senior year. He also participated in extracurricular activities, including Future Farmers of America (FFA), the Letterman's Club, the Pep Club, and the Library Club. An ambitious young man, Peter graduated from high school in May 1962 and enlisted in the Marine Corps by the end of June.

Military Service

As his brother Eric Hedlund recalled, Peter's commitment to joining the Marines was influenced by his belief that it was the most challenging branch of service, deviating from following his brothers into the Air Force and Navy. He began boot camp in July 1962 but returned home briefly in August due to his mother's unexpected passing. After her funeral, he completed boot camp on September 28, 1962, marking the start of his military career.

Peter quickly rose through the ranks, achieving Sergeant within his first four years. During this period, his primary duty assignments were Rifleman, Ammunition Carrier, Gunner, and Cook.

Notable Operations and Deployments

Peter participated in Operation Steel Pike in 1964, the largest peacetime amphibious landing exercise conducted by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It involved 84 naval ships and 28,000 Marines of the 2nd Marine Division. In 1966, he spent almost four months in Brazil for jungle training. His enlistment was extended for another year in 1966 and again in 1967.

In 1967, Peter was assigned to the Headquarters Company, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam. His duties included driving trucks and cooking in the CHU LAI area and SW Hue, Thua Thien.

The Road to the Graveyard: February 7, 1968

During the Tết Offensive, Peter’s convoy Peter was ambushed by the North Vietnamese Army near the besieged city of Huế. This engagement, known as 'The Road to the Graveyard,' occurred in the shadow of the Battle of Huế, one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War.

Peter's vehicle was heavily attacked in its position as the last truck in the convoy. Despite being seriously wounded by mortar shrapnel, Peter tried to protect his fellow Marines. The convoy was overrun, and Peter was found critically injured but alive. He was transported to the USS Repose, a naval hospital ship, where he succumbed to his wounds on February 9, 1968.

Legacy and Honors

Sergeant Peter Burr Hedlund's bravery and sacrifice were recognized with several commendations and awards, including:

Purple Heart
Combat Action Ribbon
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal

Peter’s final resting place is Cedar Cemetery in Anoka County, Minnesota.

1st LT. Philip Donald Watters

Philip Watters, courtesy of www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces

Vietnam Memorial Wall: Washington D.C.
Panel/Line: W35/30

Date of Birth: October 19, 1939
Date of Casualty: January 03, 1969
Home of Record: Minneapolis, MN Graduated from St. Francis HS, 1958
Branch of Service: United States Army

1LT Phillip D. Watters was assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC), 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade. While serving in the war zone, 1LT Watters became ill and was admitted to a military hospital. When his condition worsened, some sources say he was evacuated to Japan, while others say he passed away in South Vietnam on January 3, 1969.

His body was recovered.