After a year’s worth of planning and just under a week’s worth of activities, The Wall That Heals is officially on the way to its next location.
The wall arrived with a huge entourage Tuesday and was open to the public on a 24-7 basis starting Thursday through the closing ceremonies Sunday afternoon. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has been organizing these national tours of cities large and small for 30 years now, and representative Sandra Nugent says the local response was “phenomenal.”
The next stops are in Washington state.
Local organizer Clay Childs had one reaction: “wow.”
Childs compares his return from Desert Storm with the return home from Vietnam veterans.
Local organizer Richelle Birk says people came to the wall from across Kansas and from most neighboring states, sharing the story of one veteran who had a specific purpose in seeing The Wall That Heals.
Local organizer Ed Rathke believes The Wall That Heals lived up to its name. He was glad to be part of the effort.
Rathke says it’s a welcome home long overdue for Vietnam veterans, but it’s a welcome home nonetheless.
The display had a large attendance for Thursday’s official opening ceremonies and an even bigger turnout for a special Agent Orange remembrance ceremony Friday night.
Up next for The Wall That Heals is a stop in Spokane, Washington, starting Aug. 28. This year’s tour ends in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, just after Veterans Day.
Photos by Chuck Samples and Tagan Trahoon/KVOE News
