Traveling Memorial Gives Vietnam Vets Proper Homecoming

Brenda Dobek has the same reaction every time she and her husband, Bob, arrive in a new town and see people lining the streets to greet them and the cargo they carry.

She lifts her sunglasses up, pointing at the dewy trail running down the side of her face, and says, “Look at my eyes—do you see the water coming down?”

The Dobeks have been crisscrossing the country the last three years, bringing the Wall That Heals—a traveling, half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC—to about 85 communities, said Brenda. Tuesday morning, Moorestown was added to that list.

The arrival of the Wall That Heals is the result of roughly a year’s worth of planning and outreach on the part of Vietnam veteran Dave Walters, a former Moorestonian who now lives in Maple Shade, and his friends. Walters has visited the wall about 10 times in the last few years, but this is the first time it’s been in his backyard.

Walters said he wasn’t part of the procession that accompanied the wall through town Tuesday. Instead, he waited at the field behind the YMCA—where the wall will be set up for the duration of its stay—for it to arrive.

“I wanted to get here. I guess to try and calm my butterflies down,” he said. “It’s more than an emotional moment. It’s not on a level you can explain.”

Walters, who served in Vietnam from 1968-69, believes by visiting the wall and seeing the names and artifacts on it—as well as talking to the men and women who served, a number of whom will be there—people will have a chance to truly understand the impact of the war.

“You and I could have a conversation about something—you don’t really get into the impact of it until you see it,” he said. “This is something that has historical value. You can learn from it, and at the same time, it smacks you in the face with how many names are on that wall … It’s an educational thing, as well as an emotional thing, it goes without saying.”

For Dobek, the appeal of the wall is its symbolism: It gives the servicemen and -women who served in the war—those whose names appear on the wall, and those who visit it—the proper homecoming they never received.

“Whenever these Vietnam veterans came home, they were treated like dirt. And every time we go into a town … it brings back patriotism,” she said. “And it gives the 58,286 guys that died in Vietnam a welcome home. And that to me is the most important thing.”

The Wall That Heals will be erected Wednesday morning. Those interested in volunteering should arrive at the YMCA at 8:30 a.m. An opening ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m.

The wall will be open to the public 24/7 and remain there until Sunday. Volunteers are needed to help dismantle it as well, beginning at approximately 4 p.m. Sunday.

____________________

Dobek mentioned the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s (VVMF) latest program, “Faces Never Forgotten”—an effort to put a face and a story to each name on the wall. The VVMF is asking people to submit photos and information about veterans for display in the soon-to-be-built Education Center. Click here for more information.