Chris Umscheid
The American flag, and visitors are reflected in the highly polished panels making up The Moving Wall, a half-sized replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. The display, with the names of over 58,000 servicemen and women, was on display in the American Legion Stinocher Post 460’s ball field in August 2021. Next month a similar wall dedicated to the Global War on Terror, from the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon to the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan will be in Solon at Legion Park.
What we know today as the ‘Global War on Terror (GWoT)’ started October 23, 1983, when 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers were killed when a truck loaded with an estimated 12,000 lbs. of explosives crashed through the gates of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, and was detonated by members of the terrorist group Islamic Jihad. The resulting explosion collapsed the four-story building for the largest one-day loss of life for the Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.
Since then other dates have been etched in bloody history including the bombing of the World Trade Center (1993), the bombing of the USS Cole (2000), the 9-11 attacks (2001), Gulf War II with combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, military action in Syria, and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan (2021).
To honor the fallen and recognize the service and sacrifice of so many, including those serving today, Brian Romans, founder of Romans Warrior Foundation, created the Global War on Terror Wall of Remembrance (a collaboration of a vision by Richard Nichols, Jr. and designer David Brown) to honor, remember, and never forget those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the War on Terror as well as to bring healing and fellowship among veterans.
The wall is of a similar design to the famous Vietnam Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., and a scaled down traveling replica, which was brought to Solon in 2021 by Solon American Legion Stinocher Post 460. Next month, Thursday Sept. 18-Saturday, Sept. 21, the Global War on Terror Wall of Remembrance will be in Solon.
Marine veteran Mike Kessler learned about the wall from a social media post by a fellow Marine and called Romans Warrior Foundation to find out more about the wall, and to see about bringing it to Solon.
“This is the current war. People will have lived, grown up with, this war. Desert Storm (sometimes referred to as ‘Gulf War I’) the War on Terror, Iraq, Afghanistan. Serving in the Legion here, a lot of the guys that are members have served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. We had the Vietnam wall and I really wanted to do something for this generation, to bring awareness to the general public…yeah, you can see everything on the news but until you walk up and look at all those names on that wall, that’s when it’ll hit home what the price of freedom really means.”
Kessler said looking at the names on the Vietnam wall sent chills down his spine because he understood what those men and women sacrificed for the freedom we enjoy.
“I believe this is a great tribute to those that we’ve lost overseas, and not only that part but I also hope that this will help heal…bring some sort of ‘closure’ to the veterans that survived, to be able to see the names of their buddies and feel it, and give them some closure and help them heal from the wounds from within.”
Kessler acknowledged it will be a “very difficult four days, very hard, very emotional, but I truly hope it helps close up some of the wounds that we all carry.”
Kessler said there are 98 names on the wall from Iowa including one from Johnson County and one from neighboring Cedar County. The families of all 98 have been invited by John Thompson, founder of Cedar Rapids based Salute to the Fallen Foundation.
The two-sided wall has the names the fallen on one side, much like the Vietnam wall, while the other has a visual depiction of the timeline from the Beirut bombing to the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
While the Vietnam wall drew a large crowd during it’s time in Solon, the Legion anticipates an even bigger turnout for the GWoT wall.
“I don’t want to say it’s a matter of relevancy, but it is,” said Vietnam vet Doug “Doc” Thompson. “Its something these young kids are more fully aware of versus they read about me in a history book. These kids have lived around it. They may have older brothers or sisters, or moms or dads that have been deployed.”
Major escort planned for Thursday, Sept. 18
The wall, a series of panels that when assembled spans 150 feet, will arrive in Solon Thursday, Sept. 18. An escort is being arranged starting at the Iowa Army National Guard Armory in Davenport and taking I-80 to Hwy. 1 into Solon. At least 600 motorcycles are anticipated to be involved in the escort with veterans biker groups such as the American Legion Riders participating. As the nearly four-mile long convoy reaches Solon, around 11-11:30 a.m., the Solon Fire Department will lead the way to Legion Park where the panels will be assembled.
To accommodate the anticipated number of bikes, Main St. will be closed Thursday, Sept. 18 from Market St. (Hwy. 1) to Dubuque St.
It is anticipated the site will be opened to the public around 2:00 p.m.
A brief ceremony is set for Saturday at noon with the Iowa Army National Guard’s Deputy Adjutant,
Brigadier General William F. McClintock as the guest speaker. Tentative plans call for an Army Blackhawk helicopter to land at the Legion ball diamonds and be a static display for a few hours, pending approvals.
The wall will be open until around 10:00 p.m. with security present.
Individuals desiring an opportunity to visit privately overnight will not be turned away, Kessler said.
The Veterans Administration’s mobile outreach crisis van will be onsite Friday and Saturday with the VA’s suicide crisis team and a squad of psychology interns, all available to help if the experience hits a veteran too hard, and they’re willing to reach out for support.
“I hope this heals, and I want to bring in as many resources as possible to help prevent a veteran taking his own life, because of this,” Kessler said. “They’re bringing as many resources as they can, and they’re trained so if they see somebody going down that rabbit hole, they might approach and say, ‘Hey, we’re here if you want to talk.’ So that’s been my biggest fear,” he added.
“I really hope this heals.”
RUCK 22, marching for veterans suicide awareness and prevention Saturday, Sept. 20
The annual RUCK 22 veterans suicide march is set for Saturday, Sept. 20 with a 2.2-mile route in recognition of a long-standing estimated average of 22 (some estimates are 44/day, with a definitive reason for the increase unknown) veterans ending their life via suicide each day. Many participants carry a 22-pound back pack or weighted vest symbolizing the 22 and/or carry a reminder of a veteran lost to suicide.
This year’s event will start at Lakeview Elementary and end at the GWoT WoR in Legion Park. Registration is $22 as are T-shirts (available for sale at Lakeview with registration). All proceeds go to Iowa Veterans Outdoor Experiences (IVOE), an all-volunteer veterans advocacy and support group based in Solon. IVOE arranges veterans-only hunting and fishing trips where healing and fellowship are as much a part of the event as the activity.
“I know we have saved 19 veterans,” said Thompson. “They have told us if it wasn’t for IVOE, they were going to kill themselves.”
Thompson takes veteran suicide personally. As a Navy Hospital Corpsman (combat medic), he was committed to saving the lives of the Marines he served with. As a veteran and chaplain of Legion Post 460, he sees a veteran committing suicide as a failure.
“Somebody has failed our brother and sister vets. But I understand this is nationwide. At IVOE, we’ve got our fingers out there but we’re not grabbing everybody.”
For more information including how to donate to help offset the Legion’s cost to bring the wall to Solon, and to volunteer, go to the Legion’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/stinocher460 and IVOE’s page – www.facebook.com/IowaVeteransOutdoorExperience for RUCK 22 details.