Kansas VI

One final post from Kansas before I move on. I will say that I have a few others from Kansas as well as most states and will post them after I complete all 50 state postings.

I stumbled upon this wall at the University of Kansas. It honors those from the University who made the final sacrifice in Vietnam. 57 names of those killed or missing are engraved in the 65 foot wall that recalls the one in D.C. Made of native Kansas limestone it was erected with donations from students, alumni, and Vets.

Just by chance, the day I drove up there was a young woman working on the wall. I asked her what she was doing and she explained that her father built the wall and now that he was gone she felt a responsibility to keep it as he meant it to be. She comes periodically to touch up the graphics. The pictures are freshened and each name has a treatment that makes it stand out, again. I was really touched by this. She has no obligation to do this, she was far to young to remember or be particularly connected to Vietnam except through this wall. She does it for her father and because she just thinks it should be done. She, very kindly, moved all her equipment so that I could take these pics.

If you look closely at a couple of the photos, you can see where she has touched up and where she has not yet done so. She was doing all this by hand with just a little paint brush. I cannot imagine how long this labor of love must take. I hope she knows how grateful we are for her efforts.

The memorial may be found at the west end of Memorial Drive on the campus.


To read a much more complete history of this memorial, please go to:

http://kuhistory.com/articles/separating-the-war-from-the-warriors/