A new addition is coming to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Great Bend’s Veterans Memorial Park. 

Larry Parsons, a member of the committee that spearheaded the project, said six service flags, each bearing the name of a man from Barton County who died in the Vietnam War, will be placed at the memorial on March 29, which is Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day. 

From that date forward, the flags will be displayed on the five federal holidays when flags are prominently posted in Great Bend: Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day.

Six Barton County men are honored for making the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War: Kent L. Amerine (Great Bend), Robert E. Riedel (Hoisington), Edward L. Saenz (Great Bend), John S. Simmons (Hoisington), Conrad F. Straub (Claflin), and Carl F. Karst (Galatia).

Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Day

“The last combat troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973,” Parsons said. In 2017, March 29 was declared National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

Barton County’s recognition of its Vietnam War veterans came later.

In May of 2023, Great Bend hosted “The Wall That Heals,” a traveling version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. More than 13,000 people viewed it. Inspired by the response, six local veterans formed a committee to create a memorial honoring all who served in the Vietnam War, not just those from Barton County.

The group consisted of Larry Parsons, Don Green, Gary Burke, Ken Lebbin, Mike Harbaugh and Ghazi Jahay. Together they brainstormed what they were hoping it would become, and how they were going to pay for it without costing taxpayers a dime.

Bruce and Brent Bitter, owners of B&B Metal Arts in Hoisington, designed the 50-foot-long memorial. It represents the Wall with a helicopter hovering over its apex, the logos for the branches of service, the Vietnam Service Medal and three soldiers crouching in tall elephant grass.

An important piece of the memorial is a bench where veterans can sit and reflect.

The flags

Parsons noted the City of Great Bend, particularly Director of Public Lands Scott Keeler, has supported the project from the beginning. While private donations funded the memorial, the city contributed lighting and irrigation. Keeler will place the new flags on March 29.

Each flag represents one local veteran who died in the war with their service flag and name: three from the U.S. Army, two Marines and one from the Air Force.

All six names appear on a plaque at the memorial, along with statistics about the Vietnam War. Parsons said he hopes the memorial educates visitors while honoring veterans. The names of the six local veterans are also listed on the county’s Golden Belt Veterans Memorial, located in the Golden Belt Memorial Park, 59 NW 50 Road, Great Bend. Chris Bitter has created shadow boxes with the photos and histories of each veteran. These will be printed in an upcoming edition of the Tribune.