MANCHESTER, CT — A replica of the Vietnam Wall will be coming to Manchester in September and will be in town for nearly a week.
The “Wall That Heals” exhibit features a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors can experience the wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of the memorial in the nation’s capital.
The wall will be places near the water department facilities at Charter Oak Park. An opening ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. and a closing ceremony is slated for Sept. 22 and 1 p.m. It will be open 24 hours during the time period.
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The monument will arrive by truck with an escort of about 300 motorcycles beginning on Interstate 91 in Enfield and finishing in Manchester.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is bringing the replica monument to 30 cities in a nationwide tour this year with an anticipated visitor total of 300,000. Locally, the event is being presented by the town and the local Elks club. Tom Topping, a Marine Corps veteran and local vets advocate who is handing publicity for the event, said the goal is for 40,000 visitors in Manchester.
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“Maybe it is because I’m from Manchester and it’s coming to Manchester, but I think this is a special opportunity,” Topping said. “This is a good way to let the veterans and families of veterans experience what we have. I worked with Disney for many years as an events manager, but this is as moving an event as I’ve been a part of.”
He said 14 Manchester residents died in the Vietnam War.
Like the original memorial, The Wall That Heals is erected in a chevron-shape and visitors can make name rubbings of individual service members on the wall. The replica is constructed of Avonite, a synthetic granite, and its 140 numbered panels are supported by an aluminum frame. Machine engraving of the more than 58,000 names along with modern LED lighting provide readability of The Wall day and night.
As on The Vietnam Wall, the names on The Wall That Heals are listed by day of casualty. Beginning at the center/apex, the names start on the East Wall (right-hand side) working their way out to the end of that wing, picking up again at the far end of the West Wall (left-hand side) and working their way back in to the center/apex, joining the beginning and end of the conflict at the center.
The event costs $120,000 to put on and Topping said a big fundraising effort will kick off soon to offset costs. Donors can contact him at [email protected] or 860-327-1478.
Topping knows the Vietnam War Era. He was a Marine from 1977 to 1981 and served in Japan Norway and domestically and spent 90 days in Cuba.
This is not just about the 14 men who died in the war, but also their families, whether it’s a memory of them not coming back or dying later from something like Agent Orange. The Wall That Heals is designed to do just that — give the families a place to go that is just like Washington.
See more about the wall here.
Manchester has a permanent Vietnam memorial at the top of Center Street.
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