FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --
The city of Spokane felt a heavy presence of honor and remembrance as The Wall That Heals visited Aug. 28-31, 2025.
The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; it spans 375 feet in length and travels across the United States as a testament to the country’s memorial to the 58,281 men and women who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
During the opening ceremony of the wall’s visit to Spokane, Dixie Ferguson shared her story of working as a “Donut Dolly” at 23 years old during the Vietnam War, where she volunteered for one year to work in mobile recreation centers throughout Vietnam to bring a sense of home to service members while they were away at war.
“This unique program was a response to a request by the U.S. military, only in times of war,” said Ferguson. “My expectations were lofty and patriotic. I was thrilled to be chosen to support our brave American troops who had been called into the war against the expansion of communism in Southeast Asia.”
A total of 627 women served as “Donut Dollies” during the Vietnam War, each of them visiting hospitals, recreation centers, and military bases to share stories and bring entertainment to service members.
“My first visit to the Vietnam [Veterans Memorial] wall in Washington, D.C., was quiet. The names stretched from left to right - it was truly overwhelming,” said Ferguson. “I had met thousands, I mean literally thousands of them in Vietnam.”
The Wall That Heals offers an opportunity for communities across the country to reflect and heal while memorializing those who died in service to their country.
Eric Shelly, a U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran who had lost 37 friends during his service, reflected on his first visit to The Wall That Heals and how seeing the names of Soldiers who he had served alongside began his long-awaited healing process.
“I was overcome by a wave of emotions that I’d never felt before in my life,” said Shelly. “I knew the emotions included those that I had sequestered for 48 years after coming home from Vietnam, they all came to the surface that morning.”
Shelly's story is just one of many illustrating how The Wall That Heals can bring a sense of closure and healing to communities across the country, honoring the profound sacrifices made during the Vietnam War.
“As I knelt there in front of that panel that morning, thinking of those that are on the wall that I had served with, I got the distinct feeling that in some inexplicable way, they were telling me to go on with my life,” said Shelly. “No sooner had that thought passed from my mind, [my wife] Eva leaned closer to me, put her hand on my shoulder and said, ‘It’s okay Eric, they know you’re here.’”