stop in city Thursday

By DOUG WATERS, The Daily News, dwaters@bgdailynews.com

A half-size replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. will rest at Franklin's Community Park on Thursday through Saturday.

“The Wall that Heals” can be viewed free 24 hours a day, starting at Thursday's 10 a.m. opening ceremony. There will be a candlelight service at 7:30 p.m. Saturday; two hours prior to Sunday's 2 p.m. closing ceremony, the names of the 1,055 Kentucky soldiers killed or missing in the Vietnam War will be read aloud.

Like the original wall, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the mobile monument - 250 feet wide and 5 feet tall - contains the names of all 58,000 American servicemen and women who died during the Vietnam War from 1956 to 1974.

Thousands of veterans who can't visit Washington, D.C., have been able to pay tribute to fallen comrades at about 250 locations since the replica's 1996 dedication, according to the Simpson County Tourism Commission.

“There's a lot of emotional power to the wall,” Tourism Director Dan Ware said.

Vietnam veteran Stephen Chappell of Franklin said the traveling wall helps bring closure to many still nursing inner wounds.

“It's a healing wall. This is a somber experience for a lot of people,” said Chappell, who's slated to speak at Saturday's candlelight service.

Like other veterans, he hasn't visited the larger wall in D.C. due to lingering post-traumatic stress.

“The shock was just so traumatic to a lot of people that they didn't talk about it,” Chappell said.

Vietnam veterans paid a high price and became an example of how not to treat soldiers, as many were met with derogatory remarks when they got home, he said.

“Comments were made to me after I got back,” Chappell said, noting that he tried not to bring attention to himself when the war was discussed around him.

Although the war wasn't popular, people should realize that soldiers don't dictate policy, he said, and Vietnam veterans didn't “go to Canada or skip their service duty.”

Vietnam memorabilia will be on display in the park's agricultural building during the memorial. The items are stored in glass cases that come on the trailer used to transport the wall, said Oleta Dearing, president of AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary Post 110 in Franklin.

The wall's visit to Franklin, the only one made to Kentucky this year, had to be applied for a year in advance. About 1,500 students are scheduled to visit it Thursday and Friday, she said.

Franklin Mayor Jim Brown and Simpson Judge-Executive Jim Henderson will be guest speakers at Thursday's opening ceremony, with the Franklin-Simpson High School band performing the national anthem.

Sunday's speakers include Sen. Richie Sanders, R-Franklin, Rep. Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville, and Vietnam veteran Mike Weaver, a former state representative.

Ware said the park will be kept quiet during the four-day memorial, aside from the ceremonies. Ballgames will likely be canceled and there will be no concessions. Coffee and water will be free.

Volunteers will man computer stations to assist those wanting wall locations of particular soldiers, he said.

Chappell said Simpson County has many natives listed.

“Two of them I attended school with,” he said.

The wall, which contains the names of people's sons, daughters and fathers, is akin to a funeral in that it benefits the living more than the dead, Chappell said.

“I think that it's going to help a lot of people, but a lot of times we have to go through a little pain to get help.”