The Founding City of Veterans Day will be welcoming a one-of-a-kind patriotic display to town later this year.
The Wall That Heals is a mobile replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. which travels the country along with a mobile education center meant to bring DC to small communities as many veterans are beginning to reach the age where they can no longer travel to see the memorial in person according to local veteran and organizer Richelle Birk. Given Emporia’s status as the founding city of Veterans Day, Birk says bringing the wall to town is a natural fit.
The wall will be in Emporia August 14-17 and local veteran Clay Childs, a recent guest of KVOE’s Morning Show, says they are planning a grand welcoming of the memorial to town.
Noting the anger and lack of welcome Vietnam veterans returned home to originally, Navy Vietnam Veteran Ed Rathke hopes all local veterans and their families will come to see the wall while it is in town.
Bringing the wall to Emporia is not a cheap endeavor costing $12,000. With that in mind, Childs says they are seeking both sponsors who are willing to make monetary contributions to the effort as well as volunteers who can assist with set up and break down while the wall is in Emporia.
If you are interested in donating money or your time you can email TheWallThatHealsEmporia@Gmail.com. For more information on the Wall That Heals click here.
