By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
One of just 32 stops for The Wall That Heals this year, Great Bend said goodbye to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica Sunday afternoon. The Wall heads north to Rhinelander, Wisc., but not before servings its duty in front of many guests and volunteers. Susan Foss with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, was impressed with Great Bend's response to The Wall.
"I just feel like this community has been extra special," she said. "They have all come and showed support, from the children to the volunteers to the attendees, to just everybody has been amazing and overly supportive. Not one slot went unfilled."
The Wall That Heals Arrived in Great Bend Tuesday afternoon. Elementary students from various schools in Claflin, Great Bend and Hoisington greeted the wall with American flags as it was escorted through town. Two cranes with large American flags greeted the escort as it entered downtown Great Bend. Members of Great Bend High School's strength and conditioning classes were among the volunteers to set up the wall last Wednesday, and volunteers remained at the exhibit 24/7 throughout its three days at Al Burns Memorial Field.
Larry Parsons, chairperson for the Leadership Committee, helped bring The Wall to Great Bend. Foss said there are usually 30-36 stops each year, and there's a lot of coordination for each community on the tour.
"It usually takes about a year," she said. "There's an application entry timeframe, then you have to fill all the necessary paperwork out, then you go through interview processes. Then there's a lot of internal dialogue and trying to map out the trip."
The Wall That Heals features the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. It spent two weeks in Texas before coming to Great Bend, and will now spend two weeks in Wisconsin and Minnesota.