Memorial to Vietnam Veterans coming to Blackfoot in September
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BLACKFOOT – An exhibit that pays tribute to veterans of the Vietnam War is rolling into Blackfoot in September.
The Wall that Heals, a scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. will be in Jensen’s Grove September 16 through 19. The event serves to honor members of the Armed Services who died in the Vietnam War.
“(The Wall that Heals) is a traveling memorial that goes to different communities throughout the U.S.,” Corrine Dionisio, a spokeswoman for the event, told EastIdahoNews.com. “The main objective is to help veterans heal within their own communities.” “
“There are a lot of veterans who have PTSD and don’t feel comfortable traveling or who have financial constraints or who just feel people just feel more comfortable at home,” she continued. “So, it’s an opportunity for veterans to get to honor their fallen comrades within the familiarity of their own communities.”
The effort to bring TWTH to East Idaho was spearheaded by Retired Air Force and Vietnam Veteran Fred Saunders and his wife, Penny. They first encountered it several decades ago in Quartzsite, Arizona. That encounter led the Saunders to travel to the Vietnam Memorial in D.C.
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“They were both amazed by (the Wall that Heals),” Dionisio said. “A few decades went by and they went to Fort Sam Houston for a funeral of an Army friend of theirs and the Wall that Heals was at the Fort Sam Houston Cemetery. So they got to experience it again and that was pretty recent, in 2019. After doing that, they tried to figure out what they needed to do to bring that experience back to Idaho.”
Bringing the monument to Idaho required Fred and Penny to do a lot of paperwork and secure support from local, state and congressional leadership. They also had to raise enough funds to pay for bringing the wall here.
While getting the money together started off as a struggle, word of what the Saunders were trying to accomplish reached former Blackfoot mayor Scott Reece and his wife, Cindy. With the Reece’s help, they assembled a talented committee, support throughout the community and a group of sponsors for the event, including Bingham Memorial Hospital and Idaho Central Credit Union.
Now, veterans from across East Idaho will have a chance to pay tribute to their fallen friends and honor their ultimate sacrifice.
“I’m hoping that when this wall gets here, enough veterans know about it that it helps them get settled down with their PTSD,” Fred Saunders said in a press release. “I’m hoping that the folks that come and visit go away with the knowledge of what really happened over there, and I hope the veterans that come get healed.”
The Wall that Heals will be in Jensen’s Grove in Blackfoot September 16 – 19. The event will also include speakers, an education center and a veteran’s breakfast. Click here or visit the Blackfoot Wall That Heals Facebook page for more information.
