KALISPELL - The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., arrived in Kalispell Tuesday afternoon.
Kalispell was selected as one of 32 sites to host the memorial which will be open to visitors starting Thursday through Sunday.
A special escort helped bring The Wall That Heals into Flathead County.
A 375-foot Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial will be on full display honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“The wall has never had a helicopter or two follow them in, so this is amazing for everybody,” said Vietnam veteran Carey Dill.
A special team of more than 300 Patriot Riders, first responders and two helicopters escorted The Wall That Heals through downtown Kalispell before arriving at Glacier High School.
“There are 140 panels, 70 on each side containing names of our Vietnam Veterans that unfortunately lost their lives in the Vietnam War," said The Wall That Heals Site manager Elaine Koontz.
Koontz said the exhibit is an opportunity for visitors to learn, reflect and honor the more than 58,000 servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
“We find that more than half of the people that visit the memorial in Washington D.C. were not alive during the war, so we need to continue that education.”
Glacier Park VFW Committee Member and Vietnam veteran Carey Dill helped secure the final approval to bring The Wall That Heals to Kalispell.
“This is the 50th year that we’ve been out of Vietnam and it’s something that I don’t think people should forget, when you get an opportunity to bring it to a community like this and everybody learns about it, listens to it, it’s just something that I want to give back to the community, of saying hey, this is us.”
Close to 40 volunteers will help erect the memorial on Wednesday, with the exhibit being open 24 hours for visitors starting Thursday morning.
“We do find that a lot of veterans come out at night to see their buddies and their comrades on the wall just because it’s a more peaceful time, and just kind of the atmosphere especially in the Flathead Valley, it’s going to be an absolutely beautiful backdrop for this memorial,” added Koontz.
Dill hopes the Flathead community pays their respects to his brothers and sisters who didn’t make it home from Vietnam.
“Being a Vietnam veteran, I came home and…I went to work, and some things you put behind you, and this is an opportunity to bring it out in front of you, that’s what it means.”
The Wall That Heals will be open to the public 24 hours a day from 10 a.m. on Thursday until 2 p.m. on Sunday at Glacier High School in Kalispell.
