The Wall That Heals
"Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering."
President Theodore Roosevelt
The Wall That Heals
The three-quarter scale Wall replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet at its tallest point. Visitors experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of the Wall in D.C.
MOBILE EDUCATION CENTER
The 53-foot trailer that carries The Wall That Heals transforms to become a mobile Education Center. The exterior of the trailer features a timeline of “The War and The Wall” and provides additional informaiton about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Additional exhibits give visitors a better understanding of the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the collection of items left at The Wall. Displays include:
- Hometown Heroes - Photos of service members on The Wall who list their home of record from the local area.
- Map of Vietnam
- In Memory Honor Roll - photos of local Vietnam veterans honored through VVMF’s In Memory program which honors veterans who returned home and later died of Vietnam-related illnesses.
- A display of items representative of those left at the Wall in Washington, D.C.
- Two paper directories allow for names to be found alphabetically.
- The Gold Star Bike - Donated to VVMF by the American Gold Star Mothers in 2012, the bike is a Softail Custom Harley that pays tribute to the mothers who lost sons to the Vietnam War.
The History
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. Since its dedication, The Wall That Heals has been displayed at nearly 700 communities throughout the nation, spreading the Memorial’s healing legacy to millions.
Bringing The Wall home to communities throughout our country allows the souls enshrined on the Memorial to exist once more among family and friends in the peace and comfort of familiar surroundings. The traveling exhibit provides thousands of veterans who have been unable to cope with the prospect of facing The Wall to find the strength and courage to do so within their own communities, thus allowing the healing process to begin.
The main components of The Wall That Heals are The Wall replica and the mobile Education Center.
The Wall That Heals exhibit was on the road for more than 13,000 miles and visited 26 communities from coast to coast during its 2021 season. We were escorted by more than 3,000 vehicles into those communities, and we were able to spread The Wall’s healing legacy to nearly 200,000 visitors. Guided tours of the exhibit were provided to more than 12,000 students.
Sponsors
Thank you for your support. Without you none of this would not be possible.
