The Wall that Heals, a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, has been in the planning stages for the Benton County Fair for three years and finally arrived on Tuesday. An opening ceremony was held Wednesday morning. The 24 panels of the wall were made in Indiana. The past four years the Benton County Fair has had Military Day on Sunday. The opening ceremony for Military Day begins at 11 a.m. and the closing ceremony will be at 4 p.m., which will include a rifle squad and taps.
Jim Hixson (left) of Sauk Rapids searches the Wall that Heals for the name of a childhood friend who died in 1967. Hixson served as an intelligence analyst in Germany. Bruce Olson (kneeling) of Rice searches the Wall that Heals for the names of friends who had died in Vietnam.
John Heintze of Sauk Rapids reads names of those missing or killed in Vietnam. Heintze served in the Medical Corps during 1954-56. Ken Johnstone of St. Cloud rings a bell after each name is called. Johnstone served during the Vietnam War in Transportation Terminal Service in which he unloaded cargo from ships from 1966-67. He is currently involved with the Sauk Rapids Legion and Sauk Rapids VFW.
The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 290 present the colors before the Wall.
The ceremony concludes with the The Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 290 exiting with flags.
Rev. LeRoy Kieke, left, of Sauk Rapids, conducts the invocation at the beginning of the ceremony as Tom Tauber of Sauk Rapids looks on. Ken Johnstone of St. Cloud, far right, bows his head in prayer.
