Pottawattamie County to host three-quarter scale 'Wall That Heals' over Memorial Day weekend; volunteers sought

Kate Gerber, the county’s public relations and Wall That Heals outreach coordinator, told the board that Pottawattamie County has been selected to host a three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial over Memorial Day weekend. “We will officially be hosting the 3 quarter scale, replica wall from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation over Memorial Day weekend,” Gerber said.

Gerber said the site was selected after months of committee work and that the exhibit will be open 24 hours and free to the public while on display. Organizers plan to provide educational programs and a mobile education center to help visitors learn about service members who served in the Vietnam War; the exhibit will also include a “local heroes” section honoring people from the surrounding area.

Organizers asked the board and the public for volunteer support. Gerber said they expect to need roughly 200–300 volunteers for setup, staffing and teardown and that a volunteer sign-up form will be posted on an event webpage when it launches. Brad Powell and Jacob Townsend were identified as volunteers leads responsible for staffing and travel logistics, and David Hazelwood was noted as co-chair helping with donations and fundraising.

The county’s tourism and community websites will carry announcements and a call for volunteers; Gerber said organizers will return to the board once the volunteer sign-up is live. The board expressed support and thanked the committee for the work to bring the memorial to the county.