Volunteers needed for Vietnam veterans wall

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

Apr. 26—GRUNDY, Va. — Community volunteers are needed to help with various aspects of The Wall That Heals when it comes to Poplar Gap Park in Grundy,Va. from May 6 to 9.

The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Since its debut in 1996, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund exhibit has been on display in nearly 700 U.S. communities. In April 1999, The Wall That Heals was on tour of the Four Provinces of Ireland and was also in Canada in 2005, organizers said. The 2021 national The Wall That Heals tour is sponsored by USAA. Through a partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), the trucking industry and Blue Beacon, the exhibit is able to travel across the country. The Grundy stop, hosted by Riding It Forward Inc., is the third stop in the 2021 tour.

Volunteers are needed May 6 to 9 in Grundy, Va to assist with the welcome tent, the flow of foot traffic at the event, to help visitors locate names on The Wall, to assist in completing name rubbings from The Wall and to help at the mobile Education Center. Volunteers are also needed beginning the afternoon of May 5 as the exhibit is readied for the public.

"We encourage members of our community to step forward to volunteer to help with the exhibit and it is our hope that everyone in our community and in surrounding communities will take advantage of this opportunity to visit The Wall That Heals right here in Grundy next month," said Betty Compton, president of Riding It Forward, Inc.. "This is a way to honor our Vietnam veterans in this community and in the region, both through service to help with the exhibit and by visiting to see it in person."

To volunteer, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904094EAF AA28A1FD0-thewall to choose the activity you would like to volunteer for and the time slot you wish to select, organizers said. The exhibit will be open 24 hours a day until it closes on May 9.

A number of able-bodied persons are also needed to help with the set-up of The Wall That Heals as it arrives in Grundy, Va. on May 5. Those who would like to volunteer for that are asked to contact Compton at 276-971-1937.

Additional details will be released next week related to the escort of the exhibit to Poplar Gap Park and special ceremony plans while The Wall That Heals is in Grundy.

Local platinum sponsors include: Consolidated Steel, Inc.; J.A. Street Charitable Foundation; Noah Horn Well Drilling, Inc.; Tom and Linda Scott; Virginia Medical Respiratory Equipment Inc.; and West River Conveyors & Machinery Co.

For more information on The Wall That Heals visit to Grundy, interested persons may visit the local group's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheWallThatHeals2021Grundy.