Story originally printed in the Westby Times or online at www.westbytimes.com
Published - Thursday, May 22, 2008
Across the Fence: Doc's Rock Wall
I left the grass-filled clearing and walked into the thick woods. The undergrowth was tangled and nearly impassable from lack of visitors for many years.
I pressed on, winding my way through the thorns and vines that grabbed and held me back, guarding the inner reaches of the woods. They were telling me to stop my quest, turn back, and search no more. I struggled free and pressed on, deeper into the woods, looking, searching, for what I didn't know.
The ground grew wet and swampy. Mosquito's attacked in waves, like dive bombers trying to discourage the enemy from entering their territory. I pushed on, ignoring all the warnings, as if led by some unseen spirit guide.
Then I saw it, nearly hidden in the tangled underbrush; an old rock wall. Not a wall piled high, but fallen down, with rocks strewn side by side, looking more like a path and not so much a wall. It stretched into the woods as far as I could see, like an arrow pointing at some unseen destination.
Who built the wall and when? Did Indians lay down stones to make a path through the swampy woods, or did a farmer clearing rocks from what was once farm land, pile them there? Was it a boundary line, walling something out or someone in? All walls and boundaries do both. But this wall was torn down, and allowed me passage to the other side. It no longer walled me in or out.
I thought to myself as I looked at what used to be a solid rock wall, "This represents what this place could someday be for those who've built walls around themselves, trapping them inside… and alone. It would be a place where they could come and let down the walls and free the prisoner they'd become. With the wall cast down, the rocks formed a path to guide them, and me, safely out of the woods again."
As I walked on those rocks, there were no thorns and vines to hold me back. It formed a solid path and bridge to the other side. If I kept walking on the walls, torn down, I'd finally come to higher ground. In that moment, I realized what this place could be… the key to inner peace, a healing ground for veterans.
Those old stones, now referred to as Doc's Rock Wall, because I was a medic, are part of The Highground, a 140-acre Veterans Memorial Park, located west of Neillsville, Wisconsin. It's come a long way since I first explored the woods at the base of the hill and came across that old, broken down rock wall. The Highground has become much more than any of us veterans ever envisioned. It has become a place of spiritual healing.
It began as an idea by Tom Miller, who recruited a small group of veterans in 1984, to build a Wisconsin Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. The site at Neillsville was chosen, a plaza was constructed, and a design by Robert Kanyusik was selected and dedicated in 1988. The statue has four figures supporting each other. A poncho drapes the figure of a nurse and wind chimes engraved with the names of 1,244 Wisconsin men Killed in Action and Missing In Action in Vietnam, hang under it.
In my mind I can hear the wind blowing through those chimes, giving them a voice. Though their voices were silenced long ago in war, they continue to sound and reverberate from hill to hill in the music of the chimes. Be still and listen while they speak to you.
It was decided by the Board of Directors that The Highground should memorialize veterans, not war, and that it would include all veterans. A POW/MIA memorial was added next, followed by a Gold Star Family Memorial Grove, World War II Memorial, World War I Memorial, "The Nurse," Women Veterans Memorial, National Native American Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Korean Veterans Memorial.
I have many memories of The Highground. I think back to the day when veterans built the Dove Effigy Mound to honor MIA/POW's, designed by fellow veteran and friend, David Giffey. I recall the words of another veteran and friend, John Beaudin, when he told us the importance of the mound. "Don't be afraid to use the mound. Walk on it. Sit on it. Lie on it. Dance on it. If you have cares or troubles, lie back in the fold of the wings and let Mother Earth lift your troubles from you. When you're ready, get up and leave your cares on the mound and walk away with a lighter load." That fit perfectly with the spiritual healing I had envisioned when I first encountered the rock wall.
I have my memories, but you need to make your own. If you haven't visited The Highground, this Memorial Day would be a good time to take a trip, spend some time, enjoy the magnificent view, and remember the human cost of war. While you're there, walk down to the lower picnic area, and look for Doc's Rock Wall. That wall has come to symbolize the healing ground for veterans and others that The Highground has become.
Another veteran friend, Tony Hamelink, said it best, "Looking out across the countryside you can see all that is right with the world. The chimes gently whisper to you, 'We are here together with you. You are not alone. You are home.'"
All stories copyright 2006 Westby Times and other attributed sources.