Some Mexico natives are working on a project to honor their friend who was killed in the line of duty in Vietnam.

Dr. Warren Hagan made a presentation last week at the Mexico Rotary Club about his friend, Army Specialist Four James Warren Cahall, who was killed on Jan. 15, 1967, while serving in Vietnam. Hagan wants to honor and remember Cahall with a sign on one of the local highways.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will put up a sign for Veterans killed in the line of duty for free if conditions are met. The first condition is to get permission from the fallen soldier’s family. The second condition is to present proof the soldier was killed in the line of duty. And the last hurdle is to get legislative approval from state lawmakers.

Hagan has already cleared the first two hurdles. He received permission from Cahall’s living cousin, Tom Cahall, who lives near Wellsville. Tom attended Hagan’s presentation to the Rotary  Club. Cahall doesn’t have any other living relatives as he was the only child of Marlin and Mary Cahall, who have both passed.

“As with any Veteran Jim could have been anybody’s son, he could have been their husband, he could have been the neighbor next door,” Hagan said during the presentation. “He was an all-American guy and by divine providence, he was taken at a very early age.”

Cahall was a graduate of Mexico High School in 1964 and was a member of the Key Club, M Club, and was a varsity track letter winner. Cahall helped set the school record in the two-mile relay. Cahall was also a member of the Dixie Grey Band.

Hagan said he thought about the Bernard Shaw quote, “Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were and say why not,” when thinking about his old friend Jim. 

“That’s the same way I felt about this sign,” Hagan said. “I thought it was unfinished business.”

Cahall was drafted in March 1966 and the following fall went to South Vietnam after training at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Polk as a gunnery specialist. Cahall was the first of eight men from Audrain County to be killed in Vietnam. Cahall received several medals including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Hagan said he hopes someday all eight of Audrain County’s Veterans who were killed in Vietnam can also have signs. He’s pushing for Cahall first because it’s personal for him.

“Maybe this is a starting point for the families to get a sign and memory of their loved one,” Hagan said. “Jim was the first one killed from Audrain County and the only one I knew personally.”

Although everyone is on board with honoring Cahall with a sign there are some disputes about where the sign can be located. According to laws and regulations, MoDOT cannot put up a sign on a highway that’s already dedicated but they can put up signs on bridges. The 17-mile stretch of U.S. 54 from Kingdom City to Mexico is already dedicated to the Exercise Tiger Veterans. The portion of the U.S. 54 Business Route through Mexico is dedicated to former Gov. Kit Bond. 

MoDOT has suggested putting up the sign over the South Fork of the Salt River bridge on the U.S. 54 by-pass highway but that doesn’t sit well with Hagan.

“The citizens of Mexico go frequently in a high traffic pattern on East Liberty and they don’t go out around on the bypass,” Hagan said. “Only visitors on their way to the Lake of the Ozarks would see the sign and they wouldn’t necessarily remember Jim.”

Hagan has a perfect spot in mind which is also along the South Fork of the Salt River but on U.S. 54 (East Liberty Street). Hagan said if Jim were alive he would also agree with the spot because of its historical significance to the era Cahall grew up in.

“For those of you who can remember the A&W, it was right next to this bridge,” Hagan said. “That was our so-called ‘Fonzy’s’ hangout. I think Jim would have enjoyed his last days cruising by there.”