缅北强奸
This week, our campus and community come together to honor the ultimate sacrifice of the more than 58,000 service members whose names are inscribed on The Wall That Heals, ensuring their service, sacrifice, and legacy are never forgotten.
Today, we gather to offer a long-overdue and heartfelt "Welcome Home" to Vietnam-era veterans. Many did not receive the recognition and gratitude they deserved when they returned. We are honored to acknowledge their service, honor their sacrifices, and express our deepest appreciation for all they have given to our nation.
We are privileged to host this sacred space, where neighbors, families, friends, visitors and Gold Star Families can come together to remember, reflect, find comfort, and experience healing.
I extend my sincere gratitude to the planning committees, municipal partners, public safety personnel, local businesses, our generous sponsors and the hundreds of dedicated volunteers whose financial support, expertise and countless hours of service made this memorial and mobile education center possible. Their dedication and generosity have made this meaningful experience available to our entire community.
We hope during your time on our campus and at The Wall That Heals you find opportunities for reflection, remembrance, comfort and connection as we honor those who served and those who never returned home.
Steven J. Bridges, President, 缅北强奸
WELCOME HOME CEREMONY
Thursday, October 29, 2026 鈥� 6 p.m.
Apex of the Memorial / Tent if inclement weather
The Wall That Heals Welcome Home Ceremony honors Vietnam War veterans who did not receive a proper homecoming when they returned, while paying tribute to all who served and their families.
WELCOME 鈥� Chaze Patrick, Ceremonies Team, Co-Chair
INVOCATION 鈥� Anna Schulten, Religious Life, 缅北强奸
CALL TO COLORS 鈥� Jerry Blake, Vietnam Veteran 鈥� U.S. Army
POSTING OF COLORS 鈥� Cub Scout Pack 301 Evansville, Indiana
NATIONAL ANTHEM 鈥� 缅北强奸 Chamber Choir
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 鈥� Audience
UNIVERSITY REMARKS 鈥� Steven J. Bridges, President, 缅北强奸
MISSING MAN TABLE 鈥� Rolling Thunder, Indiana, Chapter 6
KEYNOTE SPEAKER 鈥� Senator Jim Tomes, Indiana Senate District 49, Vietnam Veteran 鈥� U.S. Army
PLAYING Of TAPS 鈥� Adam Voight
BRINGING LIGHT TO PTSD CEREMONY
Friday, October 30, 2026 鈥� 7 p.m.
At the Memorial
Thank you to our Title Sponsor:
State Sen. Jim Tomes has represented Hoosiers of Southwest Indiana since his election in 2010. As a state senator, he represents Senate District 49, which includes all of Posey County and portions of Gibson and Vanderburgh counties.
Tomes serves as the chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and the Military and is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Transportation. He is also a member of the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Local Government and Natural Resources.
For 33 years, Tomes was employed in the trucking industry as a teamster and union steward and is now retired. Tomes is a graduate of Mater Dei High School and holds an associate degree from Ivy Tech. He served in the Army for three years, one in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division, and is a member and past Commander of Wadesville VFW Post 6576.
Tomes is one of the founders of the 2nd Amendment Patriots gun rights grassroots organization and has served as its director since its inception in January of 1999. He is also a parishioner of St. Wendel Catholic Church, where he serves as a Eucharistic Minister, and is a member of the Knights of St. John.
Tomes and his wife of 52 years, Margie, reside in Wadesville and have three grown children and four grandchildren.
Thank You To Our Sponsors!
Dan and Janet Fuquay
American Legion Eugene Pate
Post No. 265
*Bauer 's Tents, Inc.
BWXT
C&L Sheet Metal LLC
Dallas Towing
Ginger Ramsden, In honor of Captain Don Ramsden
IBEW
Jillian Brinkley
Life in Motion Family Wellness Center
*Mick Hetman Photography
*Mission BBQ
National Vet Help
*Nix Sanitary Services
Paul and Eleanor Werner
Richard and Mary Biever
The Schwenker Sisters, in honor of:
Major General Eric Schwenker
1st Lt . Max Rogers
1st Lt . Ted Kuhlenschmidt
Tri-State Trophies
Tri-State Women Veterans Inc.
*United Rentals
Virginia Bryant-Norton
Welcome Home Veterans 鈥� Indianapolis
* Indicated In-Kind Donation
** Listed Sponsors as of October 1 , 2026
鈥淚 SEE YOUR NAME ON A BLACK WALL . A NAME I GAVE YOU SO CLOSE AFTER YOU WERE BORN, NEVER DREAMING OF THE TOO FEW YEARS I WOULD HAVE WITH YOU.鈥� - From a mother鈥檚 letter on Memorial Day 1983 from Offerings at the Wall
