The “Wall That Heals,” a three-fourths sized replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. returned to San Luis Obispo March 16-19, bringing out those who lost loved ones in the war to the Madonna Meadows.
The traveling exhibit is 375-feet long and stands 7-1/2 feet tall at its highest peak.
The wall has the names of all 58,281 American soldiers who died in the war. Eight women are included and so too are the never forgotten 1,500 missing in action.
The names are etched on 142 number panels made of synthetic granite Avonite.in order of the date of casualty and alphabetically. The time period covered is form 1959 to 1975.
And like the real wall in Washington, visitors, moved by the experience leave mementos to their fallen loved ones, including photos, poems and in SLO a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.
According to the exhibit’s website, “On Veterans Day 1996, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund [VVMF] unveiled a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designed to travel to communities throughout the United States.” The traveling history show has visited some 700 cities. See: www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals for information about the exhibit and how to donate to the non-profit VVMF.