On Veterans Day 1996, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund unveiled a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C, designed to travel throughout the U.S.
Beginning Thursday, July 2nd, ‘The Wall That Heals’ will be on display in the First State.
The 250-foot traveling wall will be open 24-hours a day throughout its four day visit to Kent County Veterans Memorial Park in Dover.
Dave Skocik, spokesperson for the Delaware Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America has made several visits to the national memorial in Washington D.C.
“When people walk up to it you may have several hundred people there and it's like being in church,” he says. “People are quiet, people are lost in revery, some are tracing names, some will actually put mementos at the base of it.”
Similar to the permanent memorial in Washington, D.C., the display bears the names of the more than 58,000 servicemen and women who gave their lives in service in the Vietnam War. It also honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed forces during the war.
Skocik says visiting the memorial is humbling.
“Some people first said it was just a big black gash in the ground but when you see it, it has a whole different effect, a whole different impact. It makes you remember, particularly if there’s names on there who you knew.”
Since its dedication, ‘The Wall That Heals,’ has been to more than 400 U.S cities and towns.
As on The Wall in Washington, the names on ‘The Wall That Heals’ are listed by day of casualty. The exterior of the trailer that carries the traveling memorial opens to become a mobile education center featuring exhibits that tell the story of the Vietnam War.
‘The Wall that Heals’ will be on display at Kent County Veterans Memorial Park in Dover for four days beginning Thursday, July 2nd. The opening ceremony begins at 10 am Thursday and will feature keynote speaker John Rowan, President of the National Vietnam Veterans of America.