On a secluded slice of Perryville farmland stands the only exact, full-scale replica of Washington D.C.’s Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in the country. While the two boast most of the same features - the glossy, black stone and shallow, triangular shape - the Perryville site will soon have its own unique feature: local voices.
Meagan Carver with the Missouri National Veterans Memorial (MNVM) says as a result of their partnership, many of the projects and events that the MNVM hosts are very similar to those at the original site.
For example, the D.C. memorial hosts a live reading each year on Memorial Day. Carver says they’ll be doing the same later this month, but with their own touch.
“We’re recording the audio of people reading those names so that it can be played year-round at the site in Perryville,” says Carver.
Over 100 volunteers from Perryville and Cape Girardeau have recorded names of the 58,318 who fought and died in the Vietnam war. Carver says they expect the recordings to even further enhance memorial visits.
“To hear those names being read over the speakers, we think that it will make it an even more impactful experience to those who visit it,” says Carver.
The recordings will debut at the MNVM’s Opening Celebration on May 18 and 19.
The wall was completed in fall of 2018, and future installments include an Honor Flag memorial, and a Korean War monument.