TRAVELING VIETNAM VETERANS WALL TO APPEAR ON ECU CAMPUS, MAY 2-5

ECU's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students,
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East Central University Communications and Marketing580-559-5650 or 405-812-1428 (cell)These are photos of the AVTT Traveling Wall. The photos are courtesy of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute.

The East Central University and Ada communities will have the opportunity to pay tribute to Vietnam veterans as the AVTT Traveling Wall, an 80 percent scale version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., will be on display on the ECU campus, from noon May 2 to 3 p.m. on May 5.

The wall, presented by the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, will be located on the Centennial Plaza, directly across from the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.

“Viewing the Traveling Wall is a time to reflect on those who gave their lives for this country and briefly experience a critical time in our nation’s history,” said ECU President John Hargrave.

The mission of the AVTT project is to travel the nation to honor, respect and remember men and women who served, and to pay specific tribute to those who gave all in the service. Since the tribute is mobile it allows people to honor and respect veterans and active military personnel without having to travel great distances to do so.

Across its 360-foot length, the wall contains every single named etched on the original. At its apex, the memorial reaches eight feet.

The AVTT Traveling Wall was completed in early 1998 and began traveling that year. This Traveling Wall is the largest wall replica traveling the United States, and is not to be confused with several other replica walls – the Moving Wall, the Dignity Wall and the Wall That Heals. These replica walls do a fine job and are all on a mutual mission.

Remembering, educating and respect are the main focuses of the AVTT.

“As a veteran, this is a great way to remember the guys who have passed on. This will bring it all home for many of us,” said James Anderson, a counselor in ECU’s Veterans Upward Bound Program.

Anderson served in Vietnam at the end of the war in 1974-75.

“We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. It seems like we never got credit,” Anderson said. “I talked to several veterans who are bringing their kids to see this and pass on that heritage.”

Anderson will be a part of group of motorcycle enthusiasts, the American Legion Riders, who will be escorting the wall from Oklahoma City to Ada.

Those wishing to support the appearance of the Traveling Wall through donations, sponsorships or as volunteers can contact Shelley Hamby at 580-559-5213.

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Snows reflect on serving during Vietnam

NEWS RELEASE
Friday, Nov. 16, 2012
Contact: Steve Rottinghaus, Baker University public relations director, (785) 594-8330 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Since 1993 Dottie Snow has been a guest of honor as part of the spirit assembly at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Lee's Summit, Mo., where she was a music teacher for 18 years until her retirement eight years ago.

Snow, a 1984 Baker graduate who served in Vietnam in the late 1960s, and other veterans and current military members connected to the school receive a proper salute from the students, teachers and staff members during the Veterans Day ceremony. A week ago Snow attended the 20th annual event, which began when she received a surprise send-off from her students and co-workers before traveling to Washington, D.C., for the dedication of the Vietnam Women's Memorial.

At the inaugural assembly in 1993, a teacher lauded Snow, saying "She represents the thousands who put their dreams on hold."

Snow, and her husband, Ken, a 1964 graduate, and a Vietnam vet, truly appreciate how the Meadow Lane event has been sustained for so long.

"I'll never forget when a veteran told me, 'Nobody thanked me for serving until today,'" recalled Dottie, who attended the latest assembly on Nov. 9. "The school does such a fine job of making it a really special event."

As a surgical post-op nurse specializing in maxillofacial injuries, Dottie tended to wounded soldiers for 12 hours a day at the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh Post, adjacent to a helicopter pad. Dottie volunteered to serve in the army her senior year of nursing school at Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn. She and Ken did not know each other until meeting in the Army.

"You do wild things in love and war," Dottie said of volunteering at the height of the Tet Offensive in 1967-68. "My nursing classmate was already there and told me not to come to Vietnam. It has been emotionally hard for me. For years, I did not talk about the experience."

The Snows were married in Hawaii by Dottie's father, a Lutheran minister, in September 1967 and recently celebrated their 45th anniversary.

After Vietnam, Dottie chose a new career path, focusing on music education. She started taking courses at Baker in 1969, raised a family and completed her degree in 1984.

The Snows' connection to Baker runs deep. After Vietnam, Ken was vice president for admissions and student affairs at his alma mater for nearly 18 years before transitioning to college publications in the mid-1980s. He now serves as a regional director for Carnegie Communications.

The Snows enjoy spending time with their family and friends in the Kansas City area.

More than 40 years after serving, Dottie still remembers having an empty feeling about returning home from Vietnam.

"I always had a need to feel that what I did made a difference and was appreciated," she said.

In photo at right are: first row (left to right) — Baby Dean, Aldon, Baby Brian; second row — Ellie Staatz, Dottie Snow, Ken Snow, Liam Snow; third row — Steph, Mason and Rylee Staatz, Nicki; back row: Scott Staatz and Jon Snow.

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Baker University is committed to assuring student learning, and developing confident, competent and responsible contributors to society.

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