FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (August 27, 2015) -- A commemoration ceremony for the Vietnam War's 50th anniversary is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Fort Leonard Wood's Memorial Grove.
Missouri's only living Medal of Honor recipient, retired Col. Don (Doc) Ballard, is scheduled to be the guest speaker and, according to one history enthusiast, it's a unique privilege for Fort Leonard Wood.
"It's quite an honor to have a Medal of Honor recipient speak and visit Fort Leonard Wood because of his service, sacrifice and how he earned the Medal of Honor," said Jim Rogers, U.S. Army Military Police School museum director.
Rogers said there is nothing like hearing a first-person account of heroic actions.
"I always look forward to hearing a Medal of Honor recipient talk," Rogers said. "I love to hear what they were thinking during the action when they earned it. Their stories are just wonderful."
Ballard, who is a Kansas City, Missouri native, earned the Medal of Honor for "heroic actions and selfless concern for the welfare of his companions" while serving as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class with Company M, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division on May 16, 1968, in Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam.
According to his Medal of Honor citation, "an enemy soldier hurled a hand grenade, which landed near a casualty, and commenced firing upon (Ballard and) a small group of men. Instantly shouting a warning to the Marines, HC2c. Ballard fearlessly threw himself upon the lethal explosive device to protect his comrades from the deadly blast. When the grenade failed to detonate, he calmly arose from his dangerous position and resolutely continued his determined efforts in treating other Marine casualties."
In addition to the ceremony, the Vietnam War Memorial Traveling Wall will be on display Sept. 1-6 also at Memorial Grove. Viewing of the wall is free and open to the public.
The traveling wall is a one-fourth replica of the Vietnam War Memorial located in Washington, D.C., according to retired Sgt. Maj. Timothy Gates, who also serves as the executive director for the Fort Leonard Wood Mid Missouri Chapter of the Association of the United States Army. The AUSA Mid Missouri Chapter, along with the Mid Missouri Credit Union and Willard Asphalt, partnered together to make the traveling wall available to the Fort Leonard Wood community, Gates said.
"Bringing the traveling wall to the Fort Leonard Wood community gives us the opportunity to bring it home to those who cannot travel to D.C. to see the actual monument," Gates said. "It's an honor to be able to facilitate this process and properly recognize those Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect and defend the freedom and liberties that we enjoy today."
Prior to the ceremony, at 1:30 p.m., Waynesville High School JROTC cadets are slated to read aloud the names of the 1,141 Missourians killed during the Vietnam War.
On March 8, 1965, America's ground war in Vietnam began when 3,500 Marines were deployed with the American public's support. By Christmas, nearly 200,000 Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors were in the country.
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