A ceremony celebrating the arrival of a traveling Vietnam War memorial was followed by a downpour, but raincoat- and umbrella-clad visitors solemnly perused the engraved names despite the weather.
The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, travels to communities around the country. Franklin is one of 26 communities chosen to host the wall this year, and the only one in Indiana.
Volunteers in bright orange shirts — many of them older men and women who lost friends and family in Vietnam — escorted guests Thursday morning around the Johnson County fairgrounds. On stage, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch spoke about the significance of the event and the wall’s visit to Franklin.
“Indiana has one of the largest veteran populations in the nation. Johnson County has the highest population per capita in the entire state. There are 17 names that are on this wall from Johnson County,” Barnett said.
The wall shows the hardworking Hoosier spirit and reminds us to be grateful for the sacrifices the veterans made, Crouch said.
Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs Director Dennis Wimer discussed his own experiences in the Air Force.
“This Wall has special meaning for so many people, for me,” Wimer said.
He saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial being built during an eighth-grade field trip to Washington D.C., and he returned to it following his time in the military.
“It was powerful to see the names,” Wimer said.
Since 1996, The Wall That Heals has toured the nation to honor the more than 3 million people who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War from 1955 to 1975. The traveling exhibit bears the names of the 58,279 men and women who died in Vietnam.
Seeing her hard work pay off left event organizer Kathy Ballou speechless.
“This is a huge thing and it means so much to so many people,” Ballou said. “We’re just thrilled that I was chosen to be able to do this.”
During her time planning, she heard from many Johnson County residents about family members lost in war. They have expressed gratitude for her work and, in one instance, asked for help.
“One lady wanted to know how to get her husband on the wall. … They have The Memory Wall, for the people who have passed since Vietnam, and I helped her make an application and she called me back and told me that it went through,” Ballou said. “I was just as excited as all get out.”
Ballou applied two years ago through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in Washington D.C. for the wall to come to Franklin. She created a nonprofit, Wall That Heals Franklin 2021, to raise the $10,000 to $15,000 needed for reserving the exhibit and site requirements.
She doesn’t have an exact number, but the group surpassed the amount needed. The excess will be donated to local organizations that support veterans, she said.
Wall visitor John Kooi said he came because he has friends listed who died in the war, and whose names are on the wall. His wife, Mary, said it serves as a reminder.
“I’m here because I think it’s important to remember all the devastation from war. And the cost of freedom is incredibly great,” Mary Kooi said.
Volunteers Don and Carol Fleener got involved because of Ballou, they said. Don Fleener’s brother and father were both in the military, and his father passed away recently.
It was a privilege to be involved, Carol Fleener said.
Though Rona Martin, Wall That Heals Franklin 2021 secretary and treasurer, doesn’t know any of the names on the wall personally, it means a lot to the people around her who do, and she’s happy to have had a part in bringing it to the area, she said.
“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s very fulfilling,” Martin said. “It was worth it.”
The exhibit will be open 24 hours a day until 2 p.m. Sunday.
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The Wall That Heals
What: A 3/4 scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., which travels to communities throughout the country with a mobile education center to pay tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War.
When: Today through Sunday
Where: Johnson County fairgrounds, Franklin
Schedule:
Friday
9:30 p.m.: Candlelight vigil
Saturday
1:30 p.m.: Honors ceremony
Sunday
2 p.m.: The Wall That Heals closes; breakdown of the exhibit starts.
Information: wall-that-heals-franklin-2021.com
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