Wall of Remembrance on display in Joplin through Sunday evening
A poignant reminder of decades of war against terror will be on display at 7th and Illinois in Joplin through Sunday evening.
The Global War on Terror Wall of Remembrance pairs a timeline of the war on one side with the names of thousands of those fallen on the other.
Jimmy Burgess, a local veteran of several tours of duty in Iraq, says the wall starts with the names of those lost in the Beirut Bombing in 1983 and continues through the end of the War in Afghanistan in 2021..
“It’s the only traveling wall that includes the entire war on terror,” Burgess says.
He says the Heartland Canines for Veterans – of which he is executive director – will hold its gala near that location Saturday night. Numerous non-profit organizations will take part and several have kiosks on the lot near the Wall.
“Veterans see some of those names that we have let fade into our memories remind us of everything we have accomplished and been through together”
He says one panel is imprinted with the names of veterans who have committed suicide.
“It’s important to us,” he says. “It’s important to veterans. Take ten minutes out of your day, bring your kids, your grandkids. Tell them story of what sacrifice is and what it looks like. This is what it looks like.”
The Wall of Remembrance is based in Alabama.