Traveling exhibit to provide education and healing
A piece of history will be on display in Windsor at the end of the month, as The Wall That Heals national tour makes a stop in Windsor. The Wall That Heals exhibit includes a three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along with a mobile Education Center.
“The first time I saw the wall was about 15 years ago,” said David Kahn, who has spearheaded bringing the wall to Windsor. “I’ve seen it twice in D.C. and then also in Petaluma and at the junior college. The last time I saw it was in Sonoma and I said, ‘I’d like this to come to Windsor.’ My first thought was to put it on the Town Green, but they said it was too busy, because it’s supposed to be a solemn experience.”
The 2019 tour began on Feb. 28 in San Antonio, Texas, and will visit 34 communities during the year. The traveling exhibit honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War and it bears the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
Kahn put in an application on behalf of Windsor, with financial support from the Russian River VFW, and after six months they were told the Wall That Heals will be in Windsor from March 28 to March 31, at the Wilson Ranch Soccer Field, at the junction of Mitchell Lane and Cameron Drive.
The wall will arrive on Tuesday, March 26, in the evening and the next day 30 volunteers from the Windsor Fire Protection District and local Coast Guardsmen will assemble the wall over an 8 to 10 hour period. Kahn added that anyone else interested in volunteering to help would be welcome.
“One of our chief thoughts of this operation was a lot of people don’t realize Vietnam was excluded, or avoided even, so much in our history books” said Julia Sutton, Post Cmdr. Russian River VFW Post 768, and herself a Gulf War veteran. “Even currently. So, providing an opportunity for the wall to come provides an opportunity for some healing, and I say that being the daughter of a Vietnam veteran. Typically what you would see is a disassociation from people and their community and so even when sitting and discussing this, its dependents — it’s wives, it’s sons, it’s daughters that are my age in their 30s and 40s — that realize what a big deal this was.”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most visited memorials in Washington, D.C., with nearly 5.3 million visitors each year, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). However, many Americans have not been able to visit what has become known as “The Wall.” VVMF, the nonprofit that built The Wall in 1982, wanted to give more people an opportunity to see the memorial, thus a travelling replica was created.
Kahn is originally from Mikado, Mich. a tiny town of 99 who lost three citizens in the Vietnam War. Kahn himself also served in the conflict, though as a Navy man, he was aboard ships rather than “in-country,” though he did spend time serving in both Saigon and Denang.
“I still have a lot of feelings about the war,” Kahn said.
According to the VVMF, the three-quarter scale wall replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. With the replica at this size, visitors are able to experience the wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of the original in Washington, D.C.
Like the original memorial, The Wall That Heals is erected in a chevron-shape and visitors are able to do name rubbings of individual service member’s names on the wall. The names are listed in order of date of casualty and alphabetically on each day. Beginning at the center/apex, the names start on the East Wall (right-hand side) working their way out to the end of that wing, picking up again at the far end of the West Wall (left-hand side) and working their way back in to the center/apex. The first and last casualties are side by side at the apex of the memorial.
The replica is constructed of Avonite, a synthetic granite, and its 144 individual panels are supported by an aluminum frame. LED lighting from the top of the wall provides illumination at night.
The replica is transported from community to community in a 53-foot trailer. When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides, allowing it to serve as a mobile education center.
The mobile education center tells the story of the Vietnam War, the wall and the era surrounding the conflict, and is designed to put American experiences in Vietnam in a historical and cultural context, according to the VVMF, via displays include digital photo displays of “Hometown Heroes” — service members whose names are on the wall that list their home of record within the area of a visit; photos; and a map of Vietnam and a chronological overview of the Vietnam War.
The wall will be open 24 hours a day, with round the clock guards made up primarily of Vietnam veterans, some even travelling from out of state to participate. Other sponsors include KC’s American Grill, the Windsor Lions, Safeway, the Windsor Parks and Recreation Department and Accent Printing. It will departs on Sunday, March 31 for its next stop in Florence, Ore.
Kahn had originally hoped that schools from all over Sonoma County would be attending field trips to the wall, but he’s been disappointed to discover that most cannot afford the $3,000 it costs to send a bus load of students. Still, he believes that there is much to for students to learn by seeing the wall.
“There are 55 names from Sonoma County on that wall,” he said. “Kids should know about this and a lot of history is just not taught in schools. The Vietnam War is not taught in schools.”
“This event had far reaching effects, on them and their families, and they’re also the ones that need this healing,” Sutton said. “By having the wall come and by having those resources available it doesn’t just help us make good on dealing with an issue that had happened, it also creates that bond between the community and the existing members as well as their family, and even into teaching the children that this did happen and the ever so present repercussions of war.”
The Wall That Heals will be at the Wilson Ranch Soccer Field in Windsor from March 28 to March 31, with a specials ceremony on Saturday, March 30 at 10 a.m. featuring a Gold Star Widow, a 21-gun salute and other speakers. The wall is open 24 hours a day once assembled and will be guarded by veterans at all hours. Anyone wishing to donate to offset the costs of the wall and the volunteers can send a check to the Russian River VFW at 228 Windsor River Road, Box 301, Windsor, CA 95492
