12 November 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A day to honor those who have served our country. Hundreds of Veterans Day celebrations take place across the country on Saturday.
Many came out to say thank you to not only active duty members and retired veterans, but also those who have died serving our country.
“How many here would agree with me, that military members are active and veterans are the back bone of our nation? I believe we carry that trust and responsibility to our graves,” said Army and Air Force Veteran Greg Zuercher.
Zuercher spoke during a ceremony held at Veterans Memorial Park in Wichita on Saturday morning. Kathy Strong made the journey from California to Wichita for the ceremony. She had a special reason to attend: honoring Sergeant First Class James Leslie Moreland, who was killed in Vietnam in 1968.
“I decided I wanted to do something further to honor him, so I decided to put a brick in all 50 states for James,” said Strong.
“We’re actually perfect strangers. I’ve never met him, but I received his POW/MIA bracelet in my Christmas stocking as a young girl from Santa,” said Strong.
Kansas is the 35th state that Strong has honored Moreland in. Although she is not related to Moreland, she has been sharing his legacy for 38 years by wearing his POW/MIA bracelet since she was a child. She got it as a gift from her parents for Christmas. It’s a legacy that she is happy to keep alive.
Moreland received an honorable burial after his remains were identified in Vietnam, over 40 years after he was declared missing.
“He was buried on May 14th, 2011, and that’s when I fulfilled my childhood promise, took off my bracelet and buried it with him. I was finally able to say welcome home James,” said Strong.
Strong started her mission to place a brick in every state, honoring Moreland, back in 2012.
Before heading out of town, Kathy, along with many others, attended Wichita’s Veteran’s Day Parade, right after the ceremony. It was one final way to say thank you to veterans.
She plans to honor Sergeant First Class James Leslie Moreland with the next brick in Peoria, Arizona, on December 5th.