Vietnam Wall memorial stops in Urbandale this week

For some Iowa Vietnam veterans, traveling to Washington, D.C., to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall can be a challenge.

But for the next four days, the wall will be in the Des Moines metro area.

The Wall That Heals is a traveling, smaller replica of the original wall. It aims to allow veterans and others to experience the memorial closer to home.

The wall, escorted by a motorcade, went from the Iowa Speedway in Newton to Living History Farms in Urbandale on Wednesday morning, where it will stay  until Oct. 2. 

"The wall hits right here," said Vietnam veteran Joe Beal, as he pointed to his chest. "This symbolizes all the guys that gave everything."

The road leading up to Living History Farms was lined with hundreds of U.S. flags, billowing in the wind under Wednesday's gray skies. Veterans, along with family members and Iowans who wanted to show their support, stood alongside the road to see the wall pass by.

The traveling wall is half the size of the original memorial. It stretches 250 feet long and holds over 58,000 names of fallen Vietnam soldiers who died in the controversial conflict. The war was from 1956 to 1975.

When the traveling wall initially went around the country in 1996, some people reacted negatively, said Patrick O'Neil, site manager for The Wall That Heals, which is operated by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

In just 20 years, however, people's perceptions have changed, O'Neil said.

"Even then, people didn't respect the wall. They talked bad about it," O'Neil said. "Now, when we come out with The Wall That Heals, we get a great reception."

For Vietnam veteran Roger Dannen, of Clear Lake, Wednesday will be the first time he's witnessed the wall. He served in the infantry during the Vietnam War.

"I don't know how my reaction will be, but I definitely want to see it," Dannen said. "I feel like I'm very fortunate."

Team Welcome Home, a nonprofit organization, worked to bring The Wall That Heals to Urbandale this week.

For Joy Wehmas, chair of Team Welcome Home, seeing the wall come to the metro has been an emotional experience.

"I shed tears. It is so overwhelming," Wehmas said. "The veterans deserve this. They're the ones who did this. They're the ones who served. A lot of these guys were 17, 18 years old when they served.

If you go

The wall is free and available to the public between Thursday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 2, at Living History Farms at 11121 Hickman Road in Urbandale. It will close on Sunday at 3 p.m.