Women Vietnam Veterans will be celebrated during Wall that Heals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Wall that Heals is a traveling exhibit of the names of soldiers who died in the Vietnam War.

More than 58,000 names are on the wall.

It was set-up at North Kansas City High School, in North Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday. It will be on display 24-hours a day beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday through Sunday at 5 p.m.

While the traveling exhibit is here there will be several events, including a special ceremony honoring women who served in Vietnam.

Kathy Lee, a former 1st Lieutenant in the Army Nurses Corp, will be a guest speaker at the special ceremony at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, at the Wall that Heals traveling exhibit.

Lee was a nurse at an Army hospital in a combat zone for almost a year in Chu Lai, Vietnam.

“It was the best time of my life and the worst time of my life,” Lee said.

She remembers the positive experiences like the friends she met, the compassion and trust she developed and her ability to make a difference for the wounded soldiers.

“The worst part was experiencing man’s inhumanity to man,” she said.

Lee explained there were 10,000 women who served in Vietnam and of that number, 8,000 were nurses. She added that eight of the women died in Vietnam, but only one of the eight was killed during an enemy attack.

“Sharon Lane was killed in June 1969, when an enemy rocket hit our hospital,” Lee explained.

Lee has Lane’s picture in her office and said that much of her activities with the Vietnam Veterans’ groups are to keep Lane’s memory alive.

Lee is currently a Veterans Service officer at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

She explains that she took care of wounded soldiers in Vietnam 40 years ago and now she’s taking care of Vets, helping them get their disability benefits here at home.

“I’ve come full circle,” said Lee. “I’m proud of what I accomplished in Vietnam; I did my best and I know that without the 10,000 nurses who served in Vietnam the Wall that Heals would have to be longer and taller because there would have been many more deaths.”

Cynthia Newsome will be the emcee at the ceremony on Saturday honoring the women who served in Vietnam.

The event begins at 7. p.m. at North Kansas City High School on the football field where the Wall that Heals is on display.