PLAN A VISIT TO THE VETERANS PARK
Tours and Field Trips are encouraged for site visits to the Vietnam Memorial Wall, ML Becker Educational Center and the American Military Heritage Museum.
The Veterans Park offers free guided tours with a US Military Veteran. Reservations are required and two weeks advance notice is requested.
Enid Woodring Regional Airport is home to the A-26 "Lady Liberty." she is the oldest flying invader and is available for tours.
To hear the history of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, click on the button below for the 25 minute tour.
Docent Tours
Military Heritage Speakers bring History Alive
Our goal is to educate the citizens of the world, especially future generations and today's elementary through high school students, about the rich military history of the United States and the role of men and women in the military, not forgetting the sacrifices made by our war dead.
A guided tour with a docent veteran, for school groups, is highly recommended and reservations must be made at least three weeks in advance. School groups that wish to tour the veterans park on their own are welcome to do so, but advance reservations are still required. A tour guide system can be provided with receivers and headsets for each student on the tour. The Docent wears a transmitter during the lecture which allows clear communication to each student. Chaperons must stay with the group to help ensure appropriate student behavior. It will be recommended that student tour groups allow a minimum of two hours up to a maximum of four hours for a visit.
Changing the Public Image & Teaching about the Vietnam War
It's been 58 years since the ground campaign of the Vietnam War began. It was a conflict that would drag on for a decade, take thousands of lives and forever change America’s mentality about war.
Following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident, the U.S. increased its military presence in South Vietnam. The first U.S. regular combat units arrived in Vietnam on March 8, 1965. When the conflict ended 10 years later, 58,281 of the 3 million Americans involved had lost their lives. The weary troops who returned faced a largely unwelcome homecoming.
"When they came back, there was a lot of anger about the war. Some veterans were spat on in airports, and that hurt them a lot. Psychologically, many people couldn’t separate the war from the warrior. The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC was instrumental in helping change the public's mentality over time. The Vietnam Wall, as it's commonly known, stands as a tribute to the war's veterans, who consider it a tangible symbol that the American people recognized and honored their service.
For educational information see our Section in the ML Becker Educational Ctr.
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