The dedication for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway on Route 47 is scheduled to take place March 29, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8902 Quartermaster Garland “Butch” Hamlett said.

He said the dedication will take place at the corporate limits of Route 47 South at 11 a.m.

“The public is invited to attend as well,” Hamlett said.

He said the day of the dedication was important, as the day chosen is a U.S. holiday honoring veterans in Vietnam.

“The 29th is what they call ‘National Vietnam Veterans Day,’” Hamlett said. “So that’s the day we chose to do this on.”

A previous Gazette report notes that the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in September 2017 to name the highway to honor people who served in the Vietnam War, including seven people who died during the war who lived in Charlotte County.

The proposal was initially made in July 2017 to name the highway after Gordon Young, the first Charlotte County resident to die in the war.

“The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors wishes to honor all Vietnam veterans and memorialize the seven Charlotte County residents that made the ultimate sacrifice for their county,” the resolution reads.

The address will not be changed as a result of the renaming, Hamlett said.

A stone at the Drakes Branch memorial, which was erected in 2000, pays tribute to seven Charlotte County residents who died in the war, including Gordon P. Young, from Drakes Branch, James C. Dickerson, from Randolph, Mac Arthur G. Gee, of Charlotte Court House; Samuel B. Hubbard, of Red House; Wilbert J. Jones Jr., of Keysville; Roy D. Lowe Jr., of Charlotte Court House; and Leroy A. Whitlow, of Charlotte Court House.