The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Opinion

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November 14, 2012

Additional $100,000 is necessary for traveling wall to have a dignified setting

Enid News and Eagle

ENID, Okla. — It was great news to hear members of the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall Project committee had raised enough money to bring the memorial to Enid.

Committee members have been working for some time to raise the $500,000 needed to buy one of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Memorial Walls from Texan Don Allen and permanently install it across from the Wall of Honor at Enid Woodring Regional Airport.

With that part of the fundraising effort taken care of, committee members now can turn their attention toward raising the $100,000 needed to provide a dignified setting for the wall.

Plans for the memorial wall site at Woodring include backing it up with a berm to enhance its display and protect it from the Oklahoma winds, along with laying sidewalks, installing benches, lighting and fencing, and creating a parking area for visitors.

The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is more than 380 feet long and 8 feet high at its tallest point, made of anodized aluminum.

It contains 58,272 names of those who lost their lives during the war. Oklahoma is the state with the second-highest number of names on the wall — 16 of them from Enid.

The wall will arrive in Enid later this month and will be stored while work is done on the site where it will be erected. It will be up in time for the annual Memorial Day ceremony.

Getting this memorial is a big coup for Enid. It will be the only such Vietnam tribute within a 300-mile radius and is sure to become an attraction that will draw people here.

The Vietnam Memorial Wall Project is a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning all donations are tax-deductible. Donations can be mailed to Vietnam Memorial Wall Project, c/o Security National Bank, P.O. Box 1272, Enid, OK 73702, or donations can be made in person at any SNB branch.

We hope the community continues its support and raises the money needed to create the dignified setting the wall deserves.

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