Over a hundred were in attendance at a Princeton funeral home to escort a moving Vietnam War Memorial as it was headed on it’s way to Paducah.
“The Wall that Heals,” a replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC, will be open for public viewing later this week at Carson Park in Paducah but members of the local community, and those from around the region, were at Morgan’s Funeral Home in Princeton to welcome the memorial to Western Kentucky on Tuesday.
Citizens from both the local area and from around the country filled the parking lot at the funeral home to honor those who fought and fell during the Vietnam War. Some were veterans of the Vietnam War themselves, some were there to honor the veterans who never received proper respect for their service in Vietnam.
After a performance of the National Anthem by the Caldwell County Band of Pride, Reverend Mike Boyd, himself a veteran of the Vietnam War Era, prayed over the wall and those in attendance. While Rev. Boyd never saw active duty in Vietnam, he served in the United States Air Force for over 20 years.
Tim Tetz, from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, then spoke briefly about the history of both the memorial in Washington, DC and the mobile wall. The replica, which is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet at it’s tallest point, is the only Vietnam War Memorial replica that allows visitors to do name rubbings of individual service members.
At about one on Tuesday afternoon the caravan rolled out of the funeral home parking lot and started the last leg of it’s trip to Paducah. The tractor-trailer carrying the wall was escorted by Kentucky State Police Troopers, members of the Patriot Guard Riders Motorcycle Club, first responders from several surrounding counties, including Caldwell, Vietnam veterans, and those in Vietnam era classic cars. The route followed US62 between Princeton and Paducah.
Many local community members lined the roads waving flags and honking their horns, including the Princeton Fire Department, who’s Ladder 2 truck raised the United States flag over the caravan as it left Princeton.
A team of over 300 volunteers will set the wall up on Wednesday and open it to the public at midnight Thursday morning. The memorial, which is free for the public to view, will be at Carson Park until Sunday, October 28th, and will stay open 24 hours a day for its entire stay. Visitors can also view the mobile Education Center which provides additional information about the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. Volunteers will also be on site to help visitors find certain names on the wall. You can learn more by visiting The Wall That Heals on Facebook.
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