A MOVING EXPERIENCE: SIKESTON HOSTS MOVING WALL SEPT. 18-23

SIKESTON -- The nation's surge of patriotism following the Persian Gulf War, organizers say, promises a good crowd for the "Moving Wall" Vietnam Veterans memorial, which will be on display in Sikeston Sept. 18-23.

The wall is being brought to town by the Sikeston Jaycees and an organization called Firebase Sikeston, established specifically to bring the wall to Sikeston.

Tom Austin, chairman of Firebase Sikeston and a Vietnam veteran, predicts that 100,000 people will visit the wall while it is in the city.

"Flag-waving is a very popular sport now," Austin said. "I think a lot of people have put things into perspective.

"The returning vets from the Persian Gulf have all been welcomed home as heroes. Most of us who came back from Vietnam were not welcomed home as heroes. Most of us were not welcomed back at all. The Persian Gulf war, I believe, has caused a lot of people to rethink our thoughts about Vietnam."

The one-half scale, V-shaped, 250-foot-long, six-foot high wall is a replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. The names of more than 58,000 dead and missing Vietnam soldiers are engraved on the wall.

The display will be open 24 hours a day, and volunteers will be on hand to help visitors find names they are looking for. All the names on the wall are computerized to make finding a particular name easier.

The Moving Wall display has criss-crossed the U.S. since its initial debut in 1984. The wall was in Cape Girardeau in 1989 and was in Murphysboro, Ill. last year.

Austin said: "It has been my experience that if the wall is within 100 miles, people drive to see it two and three times. It's a very meaningful experience for me every time I see it.

"I have lot of people in Cape Girardeau helping us with this," Austin said. The Area Vietnam Veterans organization is among those lending support.

In Sikeston, the exhibit will be on display at Rotary Park, adjacent to the Sikeston Country Club.

Austin said visitors should have little trouble finding the display.

"We're going to display 35 by 45 foot American flag and a 35 by 45 foot POW-MIA flag at the (nearby) chamber (of commerce) building," he said. "Then we will line both sides of road with American flags back to the wall.

"So we're telling people to turn at the chamber building and follow the flags."

Austin said he visited the original wall in Washington D.C. in 1985 and "was overwhelmed."

"Then I was part of the group that brought it to Murphysboro, Ill. last fall," Austin said. "That's what motivated me to think about bringing it to Sikeston. It was almost a year ago when I started talking to people.

"The entire community's really gotten behind this," he said. "The Sikeston Jaycees put up the first $2,500 to get it here."

In all, the project will cost between $11,000 and $12,000, Austin said.

The setting in Sikeston, Austin said, will be secluded. "It's a park setting and will give everybody the chance to have that special moment."

The area will include an asphalt walk and new lighting. "We are working to make it handicap accessible and to make sure it is displayed properly," Austin said.

Speakers are planned each evening at the wall. "We focused heavily on the POW-MIA issue since it has become a more prominent issue lately," Austin said.

Speakers include Blair Moran of Sikeston American Legion Post 114, Ret. Lt. Col. Ian Sutherland, Ret. Lt. Col. Max Sullivan and the Rev. Gerald Bean.

Tours will be available to school and civic groups. A guide will be scheduled to explain the different parts of the wall. To set up a tour, call 472-1800 or 471-5518 after 5 p.m.