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The Moving Wall And Other Vietnam Veteran Memorials
by: veterans
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Originally, they called it the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Mobile). It is now known as the Moving Wall: A portable, half-size replica of the original Wall. The traveling version was first displayed in Texas in 1984, and since then, it has made stops in more than 200 cities across the country. There are also at least two state moving walls in Alabama and Ohio.
The original Moving Wall was built in 1983 by three California Vietnam veterans-John Devitt, Gerry Haver, and Morris Shears. "I wanted everyone to see those names on the wall," said Devitt, a former First Cav helicopter door gunner who now spends his time transporting the Moving Wall around the nation.
Devitt and company secured permission from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation in Washington to construct their wall using the original blueprints. For portability purposes, the wall is built of aluminum. But its shiny enamel paint and raised letters closely emulate the original. "It was important that the letters be raised," Devitt said. "It gives people the opportunity to touch the names, to feel the names."
The Moving Wall generates the same types of response that the original wall does. Thousands come to pay their respects, and dozens of volunteers stand guard to help visitors locate names. Many leave mementos at the Moving Wall, all of which are collected and stored in a California warehouse. Although Devitt and company built a replica a couple of years ago, the wall's itinerary is booked solid. For information, write to: Vietnam Combat Veterans, Inc., Attn: Memorial Fund, 1267 Alma Ct., San Jose, CA 95112.
Like the original Wall and the traveling replica, nearly all state and local memorials honor Vietnam veterans by listing the names of those killed and missing and by representing their service with words or statues. But some memorials are in different forms, for example, longtime VVA member Geoffrey Steiner's herculean effort to plant the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Forest on a 100-acre parcel of land he owns in Cushing, Minnesota, about 120 miles north of Minneapolis.
Steiner, who did a 1967-68 tour with the Marines, started on his goal of planting a tree for each American who died in Vietnam in 1980. He has personally planted more than 30,000 trees, and his once-lonely effort has now been officially recognized by the state of Minnesota. Steiner has received aid from the fund-raising efforts of several VVA chapters. A member of Chapter 214, Steiner has served as Minnesota's VVA chaplain. He says he purposely chose not to work with stone or sculpture. "What we're trying to do is heal the people," he told a reporter. "This is a living memorial."
Since 1989, VVA Chapter 392 in Portland, Oregon, has been actively involved in another massive tree-planting endeavor-planting 60,000 trees throughout Oregon to memorialize those who died in Vietnam. More than half the trees-which are being donated by the state Department of Forestry-are in place. Chapter 392's partners in the effort are the Lions International of Oregon and ReTree International, a big timber company whose president, octogenarian Frank Lockyear, conceived the idea of a memorial forest.
The North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Highway Memorial also uses living trees to honor those who lost their lives in Vietnam. Dedicated on Memorial Day 1991, the memorial features 58,000 loblolly pines that were planted along a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 85 in Davidson County, between Lexington and Greensboro. The trees also encircle the highway memorial's centerpiece, a brick wall nearly one hundred feet long and eight feet high. Each of the wall's 1,600 bricks is engraved with the name of a North Carolinian who died in Vietnam.
The Tar Heel State also has a more traditional Vietnam veterans memorial in Raleigh, the state capital. Dedicated on Memorial Day 1987, it consists of a large, bronze sculpture of two combat infantrymen carrying a wounded buddy and bronze plaques dedicated to the state's Vietnam veterans.
Several other states have used roads to honor Vietnam veterans. Delaware's I-495, for example, is officially known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway, and Vermont's I-89 shares the same name. On October 20, 1982, Vermont officials dedicated a 12-foot-high granite monument in an I-89 rest area near the town of Sharon. The memorial lists the names of the 138 Vermont men killed in the war.
During the war, on May 31, 1969, local officials in Evansville, Indiana, and in Henderson, Kentucky, renamed the twin bridges that connect their cities to honor those killed in the war. The spans are officially called the Bi-state Vietnam Gold Star Memorial Bridges.
On May 30,1993, Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke cut a ribbon and officially renamed the city's heavily traveled Hanover Street Bridge the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. That historic event-the first time in the city's long history that a bridge was renamed to honor an individual or group-was attended by more than 2,000 people, including 40 Gold Star mothers, 20 color guards from a half dozen veterans organizations (including seven Maryland VVA chapters), an Army National Guard band, and reporters from the city's four TV stations. The dedication capped months of hard work by the members of VVA Chapter 451 in Maryland's largest city.
Chapter member Ed Vogel conceived of the idea of renaming the bridge while it was being renovated in 1992. "That way, the bridge could serve as a gateway to the Maryland Vietnam Veterans Memorial," which was dedicated in 1989 across the Patapsco River from downtown Baltimore, chapter president John Averella told The VVA Veteran. Vogel chaired a 15-member bridge dedication committee that convinced the City Council to rename the bridge. The committee raised $9,000 to pay for new highway signs, two large brass plaques, and the big dedication-day ceremonies. "From a single idea six months earlier, to an event that we will remember for a lifetime, all this was made possible by members of our chapter and the support of their families," Averella said.
About the Author
Tom Berger is a writer for The VVA Veteran, the official voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ® An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. Learn more at www.vva.org
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