Vietnam Wall Replica Brings Hundreds Of Veterans To D.C.

A replica of the Vietnam Memorial is traveling the United States, bringing comfort to the people who served as well as their family members. The Moving Wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. Its latest stop was in Pelham, New Hampshire, on Memorial Day. Veterans visited the Moving Wall to find the names of fellow soldiers.

“When the plane went down, every one of them got killed,” Sgt. Edward Allard, a Vietnam Veteran, said as he visited the wall. “I got about 90 names that I’m trying to look up.”

The Moving Wall has been traveling the country since 1984, thanks to a Vietnam Veteran named John Devitt and a group of fellow veterans.

“When John Devitt attended the 1982 dedication in Washington, he felt the positive power of The Wall. He vowed to share that experience with those who did not have the opportunity to go to Washington,” the nonprofit group behind the Moving Wall says on its Web site. “John, Norris Shears, Gerry Haver, and other Vietnam veteran volunteers built The Moving Wall. It went on display for the first time in Tyler, Texas in October of 1984. Two structures of The Moving Wall now travel the USA from April through November, spending about a week at each site.”

A full schedule of the Moving Wall’s travel stops is available on themovingwall.org.