This past weekend, Mid America Motorworks in Effingham, Illinois was a very busy place. Not only did they host the 20th annual Air-Cooled Volkswagen Funfest, but they also opened up their campus for Vet Fest 2018.
Vet Fest is sponsored by the Veterans Festival Group as a patriotic tribute to all veterans and active-duty service members including all components of the National Guard and Reserves. The purpose of Vet Fest is to bring as many veterans from all the different branches of the military together in one place, at one time, to experience the bond and connection that comes from wearing a uniform.

Attendees could view an 80-percent scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that made a stop in Effingham for the event.
One of the highlights of the event was being able to view the Traveling Wall, thanks to the American Veterans Traveling Tribute. The Traveling Wall is an 80-percent scale version of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington D.C. which chronologically lists the names of more than 58,000 Americans who gave their lives in service to their country.

The event is open to the general public and honors all branches of the military. Active duty service members in uniform were granted free admission to the event.
Vet Fest is open to all veterans as well as the general public and each day was opened with the Presentation of Colors, Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem and Prayer. Attendees were treated to various speakers and bands throughout the day and there were also two Bell UH-1 Huey Helicopters on-hand, one available for rides on both Friday and Saturday while the second was set up in a static display for photos and viewing.

Two Huey helicopters were on hand with one set up as a static display to allow attendees to view up close. The other was giving rides so attendees could view the event from the air.
Feel free to check out the Vet Fest website and AVTT’s Traveling Wall website to see when The Wall might be visiting a town near you and to learn more about ways these organizations are helping unite veterans.