On the western edge of Hall County, a marker stands over an empty grave. Although there are other World War II cenotaphs (markers remembering someone buried elsewhere) in Central Nebraska,
Michael “Mike” J. Hudgins, 77, of Key West, Florida and Kailua, Hawaii, a true adventurer and beloved member of family and community, left this world on Aug. 19, 2023. He
The new memorial was made a reality by a group of Vietnam veterans who formed the nonprofit West Hawai‘i Vietnam Veterans War Memorial Association, which raised $75,000 in 17 months to construct the 6-foot-tall by 7-foot-long memorial, crafted in basalt rock.