The Vietnam War Moving Wall will be at the Hot Springs Memorial Field Airport May 24 through 28

The Moving Wall, in honor of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, will be on tour for round-the-clock visitation at Hot Springs Memorial Field, 525 Airport Road, from May 24 through 28.  A special Memorial Day service will be held at the Wall at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 28, and a candlelight vigil will be held at dusk on the same day.  There is no admission charge.

The Wall, a half-size replica of the Washington, D.C. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, has been touring the United States for more than 20 years.  Former helicopter door gunner and Army veteran John Devitt, upon attending the 1982 dedication of the memorial, vowed to share the moving experience of visiting the Wall with those who would not have the opportunity to visit Washington.  Together with other Vietnam veteran volunteers, Devitt built The Moving Wall and displayed it for the first time in 1984 in Tyler, TX.  Since then, two versions of the Moving Wall have toured the United States annually from April through November, spending about a week at each site.

As Devitt explains, "When you approach the memorial, you don't recognize what's going on. It's a visual experience that words cannot describe. . . Then suddenly, as the words inscribed on the Wall come into focus, it's so subtle, you're drawn in and it's too late. . . You're riveted and the emotions just pour forth."

Most visitors will come to find the special name of a family member or friend. Some visitors obtain rubbings from the etched metal panels. Volunteers will be on hand, as well as posted maps of panel and line numbers on the Wall, to help visitors to find names, as they are not simply alphabetical.  For information, contact event coordinator Ricky Mitchell, 627-5786.