Rick Gunn/Nevada Appeal Dr. Lonnie Hammargren points to the name of Army Private 1st. Class Jerrick M. Petty who was born and raised in Hawthorne but enlisted in Idaho. He is one of the names on the Mid-East Memorial wall, which will be touring the state.
Old Abe Lincoln is riding inside the Middle East Mobile Memorial Wall, which will be seen driving around Carson City this weekend.
Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, who is known all over Nevada for his "back yard constructions," hauled the trailer up from Las Vegas this week, gas cost about $200, containing his fiberglass creation of a seated Lincoln.
Hammargren said he isn't doing this to gain attention to himself, but to memorialize Nevadans who've lost their lives in the Middle East since 2000.
Dressed in a suit with an American flag bolo tie and a "Lonnie Hammargren for Governor" bright red button on his lapel, the Las Vegas neurosurgeon said Friday that he has met many patriotic people across Nevada because of this wall, because of those names. He pointed up to one name at the very top of the wall: Jerrick M. Petty.
"I met people in Hawthorne who looked up and saw that name and they said to me, 'We know that guy. He wasn't from Idaho. He was born and raised in Hawthorne.' So there's one mistake on my wall."
He's hauling the 13 and a half foot wall on one of his old campaign trailers. Hammargren served as Nevada's lieutenant governor and ran in the primary for governor against Kenny Guinn. He slyly hinted to a possible run for lieutenant governor again, if his wife signs off on it.
With more than 1,500 American military casualties in Iraq so far, Hammargren said he is in the process of building two more mobile walls to honor those service men and women.
This wall took a month and a half to construct and it was the 2004 winner of the Nevada Day parade. The ceramic tiles mounted on the lightweight steel roof frames contain 544 names. Almost all are soldiers who died in Iraq.
Hammargren, 67, also constructed a 150-pound, life-size statue of Abe Lincoln for the Republican's annual Lincoln Day Dinner. Abe made an appearance at the Reno and Carson City dinners, and will be at the Carson Valley Inn Sunday night for that dinner.
On Friday, Hammargren was on his was to Lowe's to buy a come-along wench to get Abe out of the back of his trailer.
"Lincoln is trapped, so I have to go untrap Lincoln."
Hammargren will return to his medical practice on Monday. But the trailer will stay here until he can return and resume a Northern Nevada tour. He hopes to be on the road to Elko on Feb. 24.
- Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
Memorial Wall
To donate to the Mid-East Memorial Wall, contact:
Lonnie Hammargren
4318 Ridgecrest Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89121
Hammargren is raising money to build two more memorial walls, which will be used for parades and memorial events.
