RUSSELLVILLE, Ky. — A traveling memorial known as “The Wall that Heals” stopped in Logan County. It features the names of over 50,000 veterans who fought in the Vietnam War.
The wall is 375 feet long and travels across the country, stopping by various cities throughout the year.
Veterans came to see the wall and honor those who fought by their side during the Vietnam War. One visitor was Alan Neill was drafted and fought in Vietnam when he was 20.
Neill said, “My dad was an NCO (non-commissioned officer) in Korea, and he told me what to do, ‘Keep your mouth shut, keep your ears open, and do what they tell you to do.’ Gave me some good advice, probably kept me in one piece.”
Neill describes the impact—the violence and stress—had on him.
He said, “It was like, surrealistic. This can’t be real. This is what you see on TV. This isn’t real. Then the first time you see some bad things, it becomes real, and that is a real shock.”
Neill came to the wall to honor fallen soldiers he knew, two of them being James Wimmer and Louis Mendoza. Both men are featured on the wall.
Neill said, “That really sticks a stake in your heart, and it’s hard to take.”
Wimmer and Mendoza are two of the 58,281 names on the wall.
Denise Shoulders helped organize the wall event, said the traveling exhibit is important, especially to smaller communities.
Shoulders said, “They’ll tell you that they prefer to bring the wall into the smaller communities because they know the effort behind bringing it. And they know that you’re going to do everything you can to honor the veterans.”
Neill said the wall is a reminder to remember history and the atrocities that war brings.
He added, “Like I said, you’re still a kid. I should be out chasing girls, hot-rodding up and down the street, doing fun things, and here I am shooting at people, not cool.”
The Wall That Heals will be in Russellville until June 9, and heads next to North Carolina.