Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in St. James
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, a 3/5 scale of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C., has been available at the Watonwan County Fairgrounds in St. James since Wednesday, August 19, and will be on display through 3 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday, August 23). It is open 24 hours a day. A special flag retirement ceremony was held at the site on Friday evening, August 21.
The Wall – both traveling and the permanent memorial in the Nation’s Capital – salutes the service of those in the United States Armed Forces who fought during the Vietnam War, most especially the ultimate sacrifice of those who served and died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, as well as those service members who were unaccounted for (Missing In Action) during the War. There are 58,195 names on The Wall.
The Traveling Wall stands six feet tall at the center, and covers almost 300 feet from end-to-end.
It was made for the purpose of helping heal and rekindle friendships and to allow people the opportunity to visit the Wall in their hometowns who otherwise may not be able to make the trip to Washington.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall® is part of the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard (V V B) located in Brevard County, Florida.
Local names on the wall include:
- Bingham Lake – LCDR Lawrence Dean Gosen.
- Butterfield – PFC Roger Theodore Fast.
- Mountain Lake – CPL Erwin John Harder.
- St. James – CPL Lloyd Edgar Knake, SGT Lyle William Schroeder and 1LT Herbert DeWayne Stark.
- Windom – PFC Roger Garylee Carey and SSG Vernon S. Tscherter.
