WICHITA, Kansas. – For 75 years, the story of Joe Walsh and his hometown was one of tragedy and separation. On Friday, it became a story of homecoming and honor.
The city of Wichita, in a heartfelt ceremony, renamed a portion of English Street at the intersection of St. Francis to “Joe Walsh Way”. The honor, bestowed one day before his 9th annual VetsAid benefit concert at the INTRUST Bank Arena, marks a profound full-circle moment for the five-time Grammy-winning rock legend, whose connection to Wichita is forged in a family legacy of service and loss.
City leaders and fans gathered as Mayor Lilly Wu unveiled the new street sign. Wu’s remarks captured the dual nature of Walsh’s legacy, recognizing him for both his cultural impact and his tireless philanthropic work.
“This is more than a sign,” Mayor Wu said at the ceremony. “It’s a recognition of the impact you have made not only as a musician, whos songs had become part of the soundtracks of so many lives, but as a champion for veterans across our great nation” [Image].
For Walsh, 77, the return was personal. “We’ve been busy all week… meeting with students, veterans, local business owners, family and friends, and I am reminded of so many wonderful memories,” Walsh told the crowd, specifically addressing the veterans in attendance [Image].
That deep connection to veterans is the driving force of his life’s work and the reason for his homecoming. Walsh was born Joseph Fidler at Wesley Hospital in Wichita on November 20, 1947. His parents, Robert Fidler and Helen Bowen, met as students at the University of Wichita.
His father, Lt. Robert Newton Fidler, was an East High graduate, a B-25 pilot in the Army Air Corps, and a first-generation jet pilot for the U.S. Air Force. In 1949, when Joe was just 20 months old, Lt. Fidler was killed in a mid-air collision while piloting an F-80 Shooting Star over Okinawa.
Walsh, a Gold Star son, co-founded the national 501(c)(3) non-profit VetsAid with his wife, Marjorie, to honor this legacy. The organization’s mission is to raise and disperse funds to veterans’ service organizations across the country, having already distributed over $4 million.
“It’s been a long-term goal of mine since we began VetsAid nearly ten years ago to bring it all home to my native Wichita to serve Kansan veterans and their families,” Walsh said in his concert announcement. “It’s where my parents were both born and are buried, where I was born and where I will always feel a deep connection and sense of heritage and responsibility”.
Tonight, November 15, that goal is fully realized as Walsh hosts VetsAid 2025 at the INTRUST Bank Arena. The lineup is a “country and blues-rock hootenanny” featuring full sets from his Eagles bandmate Vince Gill, and from Ryan Bingham and The Texas Gentlemen. The main event is a “super-set” led by Walsh, featuring powerhouse guests Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks—who also shares family roots in Wichita—and Nathaniel Rateliff.
VetsAid operates on a “hyper-local” model: the money raised in a community stays in that community. All net proceeds from tonight’s concert are designated exclusively for Kansas-based veterans’ charities.
This year’s local grant recipients include Midwest Battle Buddies, an organization that provides and trains service dogs for veterans with PTSD and TBI at no cost. Also benefitting are The Wichita, Kansas Intertribal Warrior Society, which provides cultural and community support for Native American veterans , and the Wichita Police and Fire Foundation , which supports first responders and has helped raise funds for security at the local Veterans Memorial Park. National beneficiaries with a Kansas presence, such as the VFW Foundation and Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, will also receive funds.
The city-wide celebration of Walsh’s return extends beyond the arena. The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum is currently running a special exhibit, “Wichita’s Guitar Heroes,” which features an electric guitar owned by Walsh. The museum, which is offering free admission to VetsAid ticket holders, timed the exhibit to “coincide with the VetsAid Concert… hosted by Joe Walsh, Wichita’s native son and internationally recognized Guitar Hero”.
The exhibit poignantly places Walsh’s guitar alongside a 1932 Rickenbacker prototype—the first electric guitar, which made its world debut in Wichita.
It is a fitting tribute. From the birth of the electric guitar to one of its greatest masters, Wichita is claiming its heritage. And with the “Joe Walsh Way” sign now a permanent landmark, the city has ensured that the “native son” who left as Joseph Fidler is now, and forever, honored as Joe Walsh—musician, philanthropist, and champion for veterans.
