Before the rain came Thursday morning, Marionville resident Michelle Seybert sat in the grass outside Wesley United Methodist Church. She took a pencil and paper to the wall in front of her and made a rubbing of a familiar name: Barry S. Wells
Barry married one of Seybert’s relatives just a few days before he shipped off to Vietnam. He served in the military as a gunner’s mate, but never returned home. He died Sept. 4, 1968, when he was killed in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province.
While Seybert never had the chance to meet Barry, she learned more about him in the years following his death. Seybert’s father was a World War II veteran, and so she always had an interest in history, she said.
Sitting in front of the 375-foot long Wall That Heals, a traveling replica of the original Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Seybert — who is also married to a Vietnam veteran — said the memorial helped her visualize the loss of the war.
“You can say, ‘Oh, thousands of people were killed,’ but when you see this, it just kind of sinks in more,” Seybert said.
Seybert was one of dozens of people who visited The Wall That Heals in Springfield Thursday morning to rub names into paper, remember the dead and honor those who have passed away.
A traveling memorial for 28 years
The wall features the names of 58,281 Vietnam veterans who died, were taken as prisoners or remain unaccounted for to this day.
The traveling memorial and educational exhibit made a stop in Springfield as part of its 28th season of national touring. The 2023 tour began in mid-March, stopping in various California cities before making its way through Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It will visit Montana next.
Serenity Honors, a Springfield nonprofit dedicated to veterans’ causes, helped organize the exhibit’s visit. Serenity Honors is led by 10-year-old Serenity Henness with the assistance of her grandfather, Chris McQuay.
“Most veterans weren't treated nice when they came home, so I kind of wanted to do something nice for them,” Henness said. “This was just something I wanted to do for the other veterans who couldn’t actually see the real (memorial).”
One of the Wall’s caretakers
Rodney Gonsalves, a site manager for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, travels with The Wall That Heals once or twice each month during tour season. Gonsalves grew up during the Vietnam War era and later served in the Marine Corps. He witnessed the poor treatment of service members who returned home, he said.
“It means a lot to now finally say thank you and I'm trying to do that in every way possible,” Gonsalves said. “And that's the reason why I do this. It's an honor to bring this to our communities and to say thank you to our service members who have needed it for so long.”
Gonsalves hopes the presence of the wall in each community it visits will “start the healing experience” for living Vietnam veterans and their families, as well as families who experienced loss as a result of the war.
The Wall That Heals will be in Springfield at Wesley United Methodist Church until June 11 at 2 p.m. It is open to the public during all hours of the day and is free to visit. The exhibit will feature events all weekend, including a candlelight vigil Friday night and a Women on the Wall Ceremony Saturday morning. Taps will be played each night in front of the wall at 8:30 p.m.
