The Wall That Heals is shown last week at Will James Middle School in Billings, Montana. The traveling 3/4-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be on display starting Thursday at Star Valley Middle School in Afton.
Wyoming will be hosting The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., in Afton this week. Designed to bring the memorial to veterans in their own communities, The Wall That Heals has been on display in more than 800 communities since it was created in 1996, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
The wall has never been to Western Wyoming before, and Afton was one of 31 cities out of 150 applicants chosen to display the wall during its 2026 tour, said Jay Conley, commander of the Star Valley Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
“There are many gold star families that are in this valley or even in the state of Wyoming, that have lost family members in Vietnam,” Conley said. “So this is a wonderful opportunity to bring the wall and those names to the valley that they’re from, to bring them to the families that live here and have lost those loved ones.”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica is over 375 feet in length and engraved with more than 58,000 names of people who were killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War.
“It remembers and honors all those who gave their lives for our country and made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Ed Liebzeit, the Jackson VFW Post Commander and a veteran of Vietnam. It helps people around the country “understand the magnitude” of the Vietnam War.
“When you look at the 58,200 and some odd names on the wall,” Liebzeit said, “the impact becomes very impressive.”
Liebzeit, who completed two tours in Vietnam, plans to visit the wall along with other Jackson veterans.
“It’s an opportunity for the healing, for those of us that lost either family members or very close friends, as I did,” Liebzeit said.
A Light The Night ceremony will be held Friday in honor of PTSD awareness, with live musicians and teal candles, the color for PTSD awareness.
After the war ended, people didn’t know or talk about PTSD, Liebzeit said. At the time, there was lots of negativity toward people who served in the war, and a lack of support for returning veterans.
“Not only did members of the military have post traumatic stress disorder from the conflict itself, but they had it from the reentry into civilian life,” Liebzeit said.
“For those million plus of us that served there, this is a healing moment,” Liebzeit said. “Calling it The Wall That Heals is a good idea, and having some facilities and services for veterans that show up is also very positive.”
On Tuesday, the memorial was escorted by a motorcade with police and military vehicles through Star Valley. The monument is being constructed today on the grounds of Star Valley Middle School.
On Thursday Governor Gordon will give an opening speech. Tours will be provided all day along with a mobile education center with videos, photographs and “items left behind” to provide additional information about the Memorial.
“There’s an education piece as well that we need to make sure to teach our children and our grandchildren to understand that freedom is paid with a price, and that price is men and women of our country who have gone to fight for our freedom,” Conley said. “I want people to remember at least one name on the wall.”
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