RAPID CITY, S.D. – In 28 years of being Timothy Bjork's best friend, travel buddy and devoted wife, Bonnie Bjork said there was one topic that her 'Tim' was reluctant to talk about.
His two tours of duty in the Vietnam War.
Tim died in March 2025 at age 77 from multiple cancers tied to his military service. Bonnie said she can't be 100% certain why he didn't discuss the war.
But she knew him well and suspects it was because that while Tim was proud of his service and the important noncombat medical supply duties he performed, he was also somewhat bitter.
He was put off, Bonnie believes, because he was compelled to serve by the draft in an unpopular war that was horrific for both sides.
It bothered him that he was so disrespected by his fellow Americans that he had to change out of his Army uniform and into civilian clothes to avoid harassment at airports when he arrived home from war.
And – perhaps most of all – Tim came to realize that his service in Cam Ranh Bay and Phu Bai Combat Base exposed him to the carcinogenic defoliant Agent Orange, which would cast a constant shadow over his health and ultimately take his life.
'There was some anger in there, and he felt guilty about some of the things that we did to people over there,' Bonnie said.
And yet, Tim quietly supported his fellow veterans and support organizations. He spoke frequently with other sick soldiers he met at the VA hospital in Sturgis to soothe them, and he gave money to the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans.
Decades after the war, Bonnie said Tim underwent a shift and began to open up more about the war and became more accepting of any appreciation he received for his service in Vietnam.
With that sentiment in mind, Bonnie said she believes Tim would welcome two posthumous forms of recognition he and other South Dakota veterans of Vietnam will receive in June.
From June 11-14, Tim and a few dozen other South Dakota veterans will be feted in Brookings when 'The Wall that Heals' arrives to honor veterans killed in Vietnam and those who served there and have died since.
The healing wall is a three-quarter sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall that contains the names of fallen service members in Washington.
The traveling wall will be open to the public 24 hours a day from Thursday, June 11, through 2 p.m. Sunday, June 14, at the Fishback Soccer Complex, 1100 20th St. S. in Brookings.
Then, on June 20, Tim and two other late residents of South Dakota will be among 768 Vietnam veterans who will be formally inducted into the 'In Memory' program run by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) at a ceremony in Washington.
The names of the new honorees, including the three veterans from South Dakota, will be read aloud starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on June 20 in a ceremony on the East Knoll of the wall memorial. The ceremony will be shown live on the VVMF website.
Here are the three 2026 South Dakota In Memory honorees and links to their personal information pages on the memorial website: Timothy M. Bjork, of Rapid City. Born May 4, 1947, and died March 3, 2025. Worked for former South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and for South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation. Due to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, Bjork died of metastatic skin cancer.
Theodore G. Knudsen, of Rosholt. Born Jan. 10, 1948, and died July 25, 2024. Served in Army in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with “V” device, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Parachutist Badge. Knudson worked as an administrator and coach in five school districts, including in Gregory, Wessington and Bowdle. He suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam and died of dementia Gregory J. Overholt of Piedmont. Born March 21, 1948, and died July 17, 2025. Overholt served in the Army in Vietnam. He worked as a military recruiter and later retired as a corrections administrator at the Pennington County Sheriff's Department. No cause of death was listed.
Anyone interested in nominating a veteran for the In Memory program can visit this website to learn the details.
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