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.
WHEN
June 22 -25th, 2023
- Opens Thursday, June 22nd
- 24 hours a day
- Veterans Dedication Thursday, June 22nd at 10 a.m.
- Wall visitation ends Sunday, June 25th at 2p.m.
WHERE
Glacier High School Soccer Field
375 Wolfpack Way
Kalispell, MT 59901
Volunteer Today!
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS
We need volunteers to help make this important event successful. Volunteers can serve in a variety of capacities including assembling and disassembling the wall, site safety, greeting guests, locating names on the Wall, helping visitors with name 'rubbings' and more! Volunteers work 4-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, during the five-day event.
Group Tours
TOUR INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION
- Cost - Guided tours are free.
- Reservations - We encourage reservations for guided tours.
- Group Size – We can accommodate up to 100 visitors per hour for a tour.
The minimum size for the tour is 10, If we have a smaller group we can add
them to another tour. - Tour times - School tours are available on Thursday and Friday. Tours are
available for other groups on Thursday or Friday evening and Saturday,
subject to availability.
This unique, opportunity provides an educational experience at a level
impossible even at The Memorial in Washington, D.C. Every tour is led by a
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund staff member trained to engage visitors and
students of all ages and backgrounds. Each group will be guided through the
mobile Education Center and The Wall. Tours run approximately one hour,
including a question-and-answer session, allowing time for groups to engage
with The Wall.
TOURS INCLUDE
History of the Wall - artist vision, competition that chose the design, and the
significance of the layout.
Mobile Education Center - items left at The Wall, Hometown Heroes, In
Memory Honor Roll, Digital displays on the history, and sample of items left
at The Wall.
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.
