The heartiest of "thank you's" for honoring one of the greatest of heroes "It's never easy asking for money, but when the cause is right the lift isn't quite as hard. So it went with our latest WTMJ Cares effort to raise $30,000 for the Lance Sijan memorial to be dedicated Friday outside the main entrance to Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport. That's a lot of money, and it'll be used to pay off the finishing touches to this one-of-a-kind display featuring an F-4 jet just like the one Captain Sijan was in the night he had to eject into the jungles of Laos. There are plaques, displays...

"Friday morning brought the high point in our WTMJ Cares initiative to build a memorial for a fallen Vietnam War hero from Milwaukee. That memorial will go up at Mitchell International Airport in honor of Lance Sijan, who received the Medal of Honor and has his own Air Force award. He served America in the late 1960's during the Vietnam conflict. Gene Mueller hosted a radio-thon, which brought the final total raised over the top to make the memorial a reality!" For the full story, click here.

"Of the tens of thousands of Wisconsin service people to serve during the Vietnam War, only six received the Medal of Honor. One of them is Bay View's Lance Sijan who died as a prisoner of war in 1968. Wisconsin's Morning News host Gene Mueller says Sijan's ordeal in captivity made a lasting impact on fellow captives who spearheaded the effort to make sure he received the honor." To listen to the story, click here.

As WTMJ Cares raises money for a memorial for Capt. Lance Sijan, his award was given to four men Thursday for their service to America: Col. James A. Schumacher, US Marine Corps (Vietnam); Corporal Willie McLain, USMC (Iwo Jima/WWII); Corporal Glenn Dohrmann, US Army (Korea); and Ralph Windler, European Theater, WWII. To view the gallery at WTMJ.com, click here.

"Why such interest in Lance, his sister Janine asked me in one of our first meetings as we discussed possible station involvement in his memorial. All I could think to say was, well, were it not for a tweak or two in the Mueller family birth order, that might've been me getting that telegram one day in the 60's..." Click here to read the full story.

"Bay View's Lance Sijan is one of 165,000 service people from Wisconsin who served during the Vietnam War. He was also one of 1,200 from the state who died. He’s now a Medal of Honor recipient and the subject of our latest WTMJ Cares effort. The conflict split the nation, and became the first war in which the U.S. would not emerge victorious. WTMJ’s Gene Mueller looks at Vietnam and Lance Sijan fifty years later. " Click here to listen to the story.

"Some 165,000 Wisconsin men and women served during the Vietnam War. Some were drafted. Others volunteered to go, including Bay View's Lance Sijan -- an Air Force fighter pilot and posthumous Medal of Honor recipient. As part of our ongoing WTMJ Cares campaign, Wisconsin's Morning News host Gene Mueller looks at Sijan's life in the military." Click here to listen to the story.

"It'll be fifty years this fall since Bay View's Lance Sijan took to the skies for the last time at the height of the Vietnam War. He wouldn't make it back, and what happened to him would leave an indelible mark on those who witnessed his ordeal. Wisconsin's Morning News host Gene Mueller talks to those who know that story best: his sister Janine and a fellow POW who strive to keep his memory alive. " Click here to hear the story.

"Friday morning brings a high point in our WTMJ Cares initiative to build a memorial for a fallen Vietnam War hero from Milwaukee. Lance Sijan received the Medal of Honor and has his own Air Force award. He served America in the late 1960's, and the effort is underway to build a memorial at Mitchell International Airport. At 8:30 a.m. on Friday, May 19, Gene Mueller will host a radio-thon after his show." Click here to read the story.

"Our WTMJ Cares mission to raise $30,000 for the Lance Sijan Memorial at Mitchell International Airport reaches the halfway point with just under $10,000 secured as of this writing. Thanks to all for your generous contributions--all are appreciated, the big as well as the small." Click here to read the full story.