The James K. Polk Chapter of the NSDAR will host the Wreaths Across America’s mobile education exhibit when it visits Mena, Tuesday, April 12. The local DAR chapter will present a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Program at 10 a.m. that day.
The mobile exhibit will set up at Bob Carver Bearcat Stadium at Mena High School which is located at 901 Geyer Drive in Mena.
“The goal of the Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit is to bring the community together and teach patriotism while remembering the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes,” said Karen Worcester, executive director, Wreaths Across America. “However, over the last year, in light of the current health crisis, we feel this exhibit has taken on even more meaning by providing the opportunity for people to safely participate in something that is both educational and inspiring while supporting and giving back to the communities it visits.”
The MEE achieves this goal by bringing the local community, veterans, active-duty military and their families together through interactive exhibits, short films, and shared stories. The exhibit serves as a mobile museum, educating visitors about the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes as well as serving as an official ‘welcome home’ station for our nation’s Vietnam Veterans.
The DAR program will feature Mena resident Retired Army Colonel Billy R. Wood. Wood enlisted in the Army in 1963, serving in the field artillery division. He attended officer candidate school in 1965 and became an Army helicopter pilot in 1966 at which time he was assigned to the First Air Cavalry Division. He later served as the Army’s “Operation Support Airlift” Commander. He served in the Army for 28 ½ years before retiring in 1998.
He is a member of the U.S. Army’s OCS “Hall of Fame” and the Arkansas Military Veteran’s “Hall of Fame.”
Groups are encouraged to call and schedule a time to tour the mobile exhibit. Please contact Cortez Copher at (870) 334-2697, or email cortezjcopher@yahoo.com
