Vietnam War “Moving Wall” Opens in Wareham

Lettie Gingerich, of Redondo Beach Calif., wipes tears from her eyes while viewing the name of her son, Gregory Gingerich, on the Moving Wall, Sunday, June 30, 2002, in Long Beach Calif. The wall will be in Wareham through Monday morning.  (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

WAREHAM – Organizers for the “Moving Wall” exhibit expect thousands of people to see the display, which arrived in Wareham yesterday and will be on display through Monday.

The Veterans Council and the Friends of the Veterans Council have been raising money to host the Vietnam War Memorial for a year.

The wall is a half-sized replica of the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Council Chairman Bob White said that he is moved by the efforts of so many to bring the wall to Wareham.

“Just walking around the site and looking at what people have contributed to, in terms of effort, material and money to make this happen to this extent, is enough to make a grown man cry,” said White.

The monument contains the names of more than 50,000 American service personnel who died in or because of their service, during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s.

The opening of the wall will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday and will be closing at 10 a.m. on Monday.

There will a ceremony on Friday and Saturday night at 7 p.m. and on Sunday at noon and 2 p.m.

They will include commemorations for those who lost a loved one in the war, speeches from military leaders and a bagpipe and rifle salute.

White said that they are expecting thousands of people and admitted that he underestimated how many would be impacted by the display.

“Far beyond what I anticipated, I don’t have or didn’t have any concept of how much impact this has on many people,” said White.  

The wall is 253 feet long and is composed of 74 aluminum panels.

It will be exhibited at the Anderson Track adjacent to Wareham Middle School on Viking Drive until Monday.

By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter

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