Wabasha Guys ?

I read in the St. Paul paper that the Gov. Dayton said that the Wabasha Bridge was going to be named in honor of Michael Clickner, who was killed in Viet Nam. But, he was not the only one from Wabasha killed there. Richard Carlson,KIA on 1-19-69 in Tay Ninh Province along the Cambodian border. It took me 35 years to find his name. Prior to that I asked an insurance agent and a x-principal from Wabasha about him. Neither of them remembered him. Does anyone know him? I just felt that if he was from Wabasha both names should of been on the bridge. One life can not be more important than another. Any help would be very important to me.

It sure is nice that you are taking time to look into this. I agree 100% on honoring both names. Veterans have a very special place in my heart and every time I see things like this I appreciate people like you that go the extra mile to make sure every one of them is never forgotten. Thanks!

Nord, I will send you a private message regarding this.

We lived in Wabasha and my father worked in the school there from the mid 1960s to 1979.

A line of inquiry that comes to mind: Could Richard Carlson may have been from Kellogg and he could have graduated before the schools were combined to form Wabasha/Kellogg? I’m not sure when this happened, I believe it was the late 60s or early 70s.

This would explain why people associated with Wabasha High School back in the 1960s don’t remember him.

Another explanation: There was a private catholic high school in Wabasha: St. Felix. The high school closed sometime between 1973 and 1975, but it was certainly in operation during the time when Richard Carlson was in school. I know people who went to the old St. Felix High and it’s possible that records could be accessed through the current (elementary only) school there.

Grouse

Big Han, thanks. I just can’t give it up.