JACKSON HOLE, WYO –A half-size replica of the Washington, DC Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial called The Moving Wall will be coming to Wyoming thanks, in part, to Jackson Wyoming Elks Lodge No. 1713.
The membership voted unanimously at their July 22 meeting to donate $2,500 to the Rock Springs American Legion Post to help bring the wall to Rock Springs this August.
“Our veteran’s services committee chair Donnie Rodgers was approached by American Legion Post 24 of Rock Springs to help them bring the memorial to Wyoming,” said Pete Kendzior, Exalted Ruler of Jackson Elks Lodge No. 1713. “As soon as our membership heard the idea, everyone was on board.
The Moving Wall memorial will be at the Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs August 22-26. All are welcome to view the memorial and to pay their respects.
The cost for sponsoring a visit of the memorial is well over $15,000. Those that wish to support this effort by donating should contact Rock Springs American Legion Post 24 Commander Michael Hobbs at (307) 382-3315.
“One of the many charitable missions of the Elks is to support veterans, and we hope that by bringing this monument to our neck of the woods it will raise awareness of veterans issues and show our heartfelt respect for those that paid the ultimate price for our freedoms,” Kendzior said. “We hope this visit by The Moving Wall will be a success. Maybe one year we will be able to bring this monument to Jackson.”
The wall was last in Wyoming July 11-15 in Lusk. The monument has been touring the country for nearly 30 years.
The Moving Wall started when John Devitt attended the 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial and felt the positive power of the memorial. Devitt, along with Norris Shears, Gerry Haver, and other Vietnam veterans built the wall. Of the 58,299 names listed on the memorial, approximately 1,300 of these are still unaccounted for prisoners of war and missing in action.
