The Wall That Heals: Memorial honoring Vietnam veterans moves to Garner

A special tribute to those who served in the Vietnam War was moved Tuesday from Fayetteville to Garner.

The Wall That Heals is a ¾-scale traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It features the names of the more than 58,000 American service members who died in Vietnam.

On Tuesday, March 29, National Vietnam Veterans Day, the wall was put on display at Lake Benson Park, where it will be on display through Sunday, April 3. The wall will be open 24 hours per day, and there is no admission fee.

Tuesday's escort was an emotional ceremony, featuring dozens of motorcycles and a custom-designed truck to carry the wall. The escort traveled through downtown Clayton.

When the wall passed Clayton High School, students, including those in ROTC uniforms, welcomed the escort.

The Garner Fire Department then greeted the escort at the Greenfield Parkway with a truck and huge sign, with a crowd gathered at the Garner Family YMCA outside to cheer for the truck.

Garner Mayor Ken Marshburn will greet the riders at Lake Benson Park and proclaim Vietnam Veterans Week.

Traffic delays will be possible along Tuesday's route.

The wall will need to be assembled before it is open for public viewing. According to the Town of Garner and Show N Tell Ministries, the event hosts, it will take an estimated eight hours for 40 people, many from the N.C. State Air Force ROTC, to install the wall, which is 375 feet long and 7.5 feet tall at its highest point

The wall will open to the public Thursday and will remain open until 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 3.

On Friday at 7:30 p.m., a candlelight service and wreath laying will be held at the site. Dr. James Johnson, a chaplain in Vietnam, will be the featured speaker.

On Saturday, hundreds of people will line the quarter-mile roadway in front of the park at 2 p.m. as Vietnam veterans ride in trams to the site. WRAL's Gilbert Baez will emcee the event, and the U.S. Marines 2D Aircraft Wing Band will perform before remarks by Joe Marm, a Medal of Honor recipient, and U.S. Marine Col. Samuel Lee Meyer, a Garner High graduate.