The half-size replica of the original memorial is set up to be fully illuminated at night along its full length of about 250 feet. Visit the website's Echoes From the Wall, (http://www.vvmf.org/education-social) for a thoughtful discussion of the wa...
A selection of digitized photographs of military personnel whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial can be viewed in the mobile education center, as part of the display setup of the Wall's replica. Names of San Bernadino county military ...
An ongoing project of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is to collect photos of all 58,307 military personnel whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial wall. Go to the website to find names of people you know and instructions for submitt...
The name of the page on the vvmf.org website captures the essence of the wall: "The Wall That Heals travelling wall replica." As part of the National Training Center's 50th Vietnam War Commemoration on Saturday, March 19, this 250-foot long, half scale replica of the original wall on Washington D.C. will be set up in the large parking lot behind the post chapel.
The Fort Irwin community and others with proper identification to enter U.S. military installations will be able to view the Wall from Thursday morning, March 17 through Sunday afternoon, March 20. The general public may enter Fort Irwin on Saturday, March 19, between 7 am and 8 pm, as part of the 50th Vietnam War Commemoration events. All members of the public must be able to present valid photo identification issued by the State or by their local school district if they are students.
The memorial will be illuminated at night, so it can be visited at all hours of the day. "Because we are able to use newer lights, it looks better than the Wall in D.C. at night," said Tim Tetz, outreach coordinator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which raised the funds for the original wall and continues its mission to educate new generations of Americans about the Vietnam War.
"The replica wall is constructed on aircraft aluminum black reflector metal, and the names are etched in the same way as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.," said Tetz.
Tetz said the traveling wall makes about 40 stops throughout the nation a year. Fort Irwin is the third stop this year, after stops in Willows and Venice, California. From here it will be trucked to Gonzales, Texas and then criss-cross the United States until its final scheduled stop in Groveland, Florida.
The towns are not well known, but are usually near large urban centers, allowing people from small communities as well as major cities the opportunity to experience the Wall and its healing powers. For many surviving family members, loved ones and friends, this may be their only chance to see a national memorial near their backyard.
"In Willows, near Sacramento, I met a World War II vet who never saw his son's name on the Wall," Tetz said. The father was able to also view a selection of some 45,000 photos of men and women whose names are etched on the wall. The photos have been collected as an ongoing foundation project, to have at least one photo for every one of the 58,307 names on the Wall.
For every stop, several hundred are selected for viewing by the local audience who visit the mobile museum that is set up in the transport container for the wall, after it is taken out and set up for display. For the viewing at Fort Irwin, photos of San Bernardino County veterans will be displayed.
Since November 11, 1996, when it was unveiled, the Wall That Heals has traveled to more than 400 cities and towns across the nation. The original wall in Washington DC was completed in November 1982.
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Fort Irwin to celebrate 50th Vietnam War Commemoration March 19
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