PIEDMONT -- A traveling World War II memorial wall will make its first visit to Missouri next week.
The wall will be delivered Tuesday to Piedmont by an escort of approximately 100 motorcycles, including Patriot Guard riders, said Carol Starner, of the Piedmont Area Chamber of Commerce.
It will be on display through Saturday, July 7, at the McKenzie Creek Greenway, just off Highway 34, near Ash Street. Events will begin at the wall at 11 a.m. on the Fourth of July, concluding with fireworks at dusk.
The wall is expected to arrive in town between 2-3 p.m. Tuesday, said Starner, who hopes residents will line Highway 34 to welcome the memorial.
This traveling wall is the only way for World War II veterans to see the memorial outside of Washington, D.C., she continued.
"There are very few World War II veterans left. A lot of them have passed on," Starner said. "There's so many veterans of an age not to be able to go to Washington, D.C., so having it local is good. We want to show them support and encouragement and respect for what they've done."
Volunteers will be needed at approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday to set up the wall and 4 p.m. July 7 to take down the memorial.
This event is part of a celebration of Wayne County's bicentennial, said Starner.
"We wanted to do something that would honor our heritage and our veterans here in the county," she said.
The memorial includes the Wall of Stars, also known as the Wall of Freedom. There is one gold star to represent each 100 American military deaths, for a total of 4,048 stars and more than 400,000 soldiers.
Approximately 200 of these soldiers came from Wayne, Butler, Stoddard, Ripley, Carter and Reynolds counties.
One out of every 40 military service members died during World War II, with 16 million men and women serving, according to the National Park Service.
The memorial in Washington was dedicated in 2004.
Freedom's Never Free, the organization which hosts the traveling wall, completed the mobile memorial in 2017.
"It's only been out a few times and this is the first time it's been in Missouri at all," said Starner.
Schedule
Tuesday
* 4 p.m. wall set up
Wednesday
* 11 a.m.-noon
Daughters of the American Revolution wreath laying ceremony, followed by greetings from special guests
* All day
WWII-era military and vehicles on display, information and food vendors
* 6 p.m.
Parade starts down Main Street
* 7 p.m.
National Anthem, followed by Piedmont Community Choir patriotic selections. Music follows through evening.
* Dusk
Fireworks
Saturday
* 3 p.m.
Closing ceremony
* 4 p.m.
Take down wall
For information, contact the chamber at 573-223-4046.