GREENFIELD, Ind.–A traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall arrived in Greenfield Tuesday.
It’s called “The Wall That Heals” and it’s a three-quarter replica of the memorial in Washington D.C. Even though it isn’t an exact replica, it’s still 375 feet long and 7.5 feet tall at its highest point. It’s made up of 140 panels and over 58,000 names.
It was brought to the Stillinger Family Funeral Home.
“It’s emotional,” David Hine, a retired Air Force Veteran, said to our newsgathering partners WISH TV. “I had two friends who died in Vietnam.”
For veterans who can’t make it to DC to honor the sacrifice of their comrades, the replica is the next best thing: a chance to heal and find a way to cope with past internal demons.
“Sometimes you feel guilty,” said Hine, who was sent to Europe. “But, we’ve been told we shouldn’t feel that way. I’m not sure how to feel at times. Maybe I should have volunteered.”
About 50 kids helped welcome the wall to town and chanted “USA! USA!” and waved small flags.
Kurt Vetters is a military veteran. He was at the welcoming event Tuesday.
“To see this kind of outpouring 50 years later is amazing,” Vetters said to WISH.
Volunteers are building the wall Wednesday. The replica wall opens at Stillinger Family Funeral Home to the public at 12:01 am Thursday and will be on display until 2 p.m. Sunday.
There’s a Back Home Again ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday that will include the singing of the national anthem and “Amazing Grace” as well as a message from the featured speaker, U.S. Rep. Jim Baird. Baird fought in the Vietnam War.
A closing ceremony will be Sunday at 11 a.m.
The Wall That Heals is supposed to come to South Bend in September.
(PHOTO: WISH-TV)
