LEWISTON — With the pieces of the Vietnam War memorial put back together after flood damage this past winter, Charles Paul, a Vietnam veteran, is hosting a gathering at Veterans Memorial Park to thank everyone who helped with the project. 

The celebration is set for 10 a.m. Monday at the Main Street park next to the Androscoggin River.

“I am so grateful for all the wonderful people who made the restoration a reality,” he said Friday in a text announcing the gathering. “So grateful to have my Vietnam Memorial and bench returned to a wonderful place like the Veterans Park.”

Last December, the memorial was washed away during a devastating flood that ripped through the park. The memorial was located in two pieces in the river. A memorial bench honoring all who served in Vietnam was also damaged.

Paul praised Collette Monuments of Lewiston for its restoration efforts on the Vietnam monument. Collette is working to restore all the damaged memorials in the park.

The Vietnam War memorial is personal to Paul, a resident of Norway who served 25 months in Vietnam. He served in the Marines as a radio operator working with both ground and air units for more than two years from 1966 to 1968.

The granite monument was dedicated three years ago after Paul, the L&A Veterans Council vice chairman, stood alone along Main Street in his uniform weekly, in all weather during the winter months of 2021, to collect money for the monument. He raised more than $6,000 to build it.

The monument is 22 inches wide, 12 inches thick, with the front 38 inches high and the back 48 inches high. The top of the monument is polished with the inscription, “For those who have served and fought for it, freedom has a taste that the protected will never know.”

Efforts to restore the entire park, including other monuments, benches and military displays, are ongoing. Organizers are hoping to complete the restoration projects by Veterans Day.

“It’s nice to go to the park and see the progress being made to restore it,” Paul said. “This is a chance to thank the city, those who donated money and those who helped.”