UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, October 18, 1996
5A
Wall finds resting place
Vietnam War veterans,family visit memorial
By Liz Musser
Kansan staff writer
Donned in his Veterans of Foreign Wars cap, Jim Price carefully leaned toward the gray wall. In his hand was a piece of paper and a crayon. On his mind were the members of his platoon that died in Vietnam.
Price was among the many people who visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall in Tonganoxie during its opening ceremony on Thursday morning. The wall, which will be in Tonganoxie through Oct. 23, is a half-scale replica of the National Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C..
Price said he had never visited the wall in Washington and that this was the first time he had seen his friends'
names on the wall. After etching the names of most of his platoon on some paper, he stepped back to look at the wall.
"I didn't bring my wife with me today," he said quietly. "I had to do this by myself. I'll bring her tomorrow."
Gary Ryther, a Vietnam veteran dressed in an Army-green vest and hat, both covered in metals, called himself the escort of the moving wall. He has driven the wall to 25 stops during the summer and fall. During the opening ceremony, he passed out roses to the mothers of the men killed in action during Vietnam.
"The mothers and fathers of the people who died are getting older. If they haven't made it to D.C. at this point, they probably won't ever go," Ryther said. "This can add closure to the war for them."
The Moving Wall, one of three in the country, has the names of all the 58,196 Americans killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War. It has also visited the Kansas towns of Hays, Emporia, Girard, and Coffey-
"If they haven't made it to D.C.at this point,they probably won't ever go. This can add closure to the war for them."
Gary Ryther Vietnam veteran
ville.
The wall is set up in Reusch Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Memorial Park at 900 E. First St. in Tonganoxie. The park will be open 24 hours a day through this Wednesday. The names of Kansans killed or missing in action will be read con-
tiniously from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
each day,
The members of the Tonganoxie community have been preparing for the arrival of the Moving Wall since the beginning of the year.
Larry Meadows, a Vietnam veteran and organizer of the Tonganoxie Moving Wall project, said the VFW had bought part of the land for the park from a local family, and that the other half had been donated.
The park where the wall stands, the Reusch VFW Memorial park, was specifically designed for the Moving Wall.
Jim Rogers, a disabled veteran who placed the wreath on the memorial, said the memorial was a good tool in teaching people respect for those who fought in Vietnam.
"When I was over there, you had children trying to blow you up, and you had women trying to blow you up," Rogers said. "Over here, people just saw pictures of dead bodies on the television. I had them all around me."
Bailey Hall gets letters 96 years late
University installs brass-lettered name on front of building
By Megan Jordan Kansan staff writer
For the first time in 96 years, permanent letters grace the front of the school of education, proclaiming it to be Bailley Hall.
Last week, the University of Kansas installed the bronze letters on the blank stone face at the top of the building originally intended for the name. The new letters replaced the smaller sign that was on the
glass entrance of the hall.
"They are very subtle in color and size to appropriately complement the building," said Jim Modic, director of design and construction management.
The project was initiated and financed by the Historic Mount Oread Fund, a group dedicated to preserving historical sites on campus. Some of its efforts include repairing Spooner Hall, salvaging parts of Hoch Auditorium and designing a small garden marking the birthplace of the University.
"You might call us a heritage trust for the University of Kansas," said Craig Patterson, the group's president.
The group originally wanted the Bailey Hall name chiseled on the
limestone building, Patterson said,
but the cost was too great.
Modic, who worked closely with the group, said the Times-Roman letters that were finally chosen, however, were in keeping with the building's architecture.
Within the next six months the bronze letters will begin to darken as pollutants react with the metal and ultraviolet rays eat away at the finish, making them more visible.
Bailey Hall was built in 1900 to house the chemistry department, and it was considered the most modern facility of its time west of Chicago. In 1938 it was officially named Bailey Chemical Laboratory in honor of Professor E.H.S. Bailey, head of the chemistry department for 50 years. Then in 1956, the
department moved out, and the school of education moved in. The building became the first on campus to have air conditioning. It was placed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places in February 1995.
During the University's early years, Modic said, it was not important for buildings to be marked with large signs because there were so few buildings on campus. When the school began to grow, however, there were no funds available to put an appropriate nameplate on Bailey Hall.
But thanks to the Historic Mount Oread Fund, the hall's name is now displayed for all to see. Modic said.
"I think it will be a nice addition to the facility for years and years to come," he said.
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