LAKE COUNTY, Fla — Making a trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., for Veterans Day is not an option for all veterans of the war, but thanks to a traveling memorial, honoring the fallen is a step closer to home.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is spending five days at Lady Lake Soccer Field in The Villages and veterans like Mike Earl are glad to have the chance to see it. The wall is a 3/5 scale model of the original, 6 feet high at its tallest and stretching almost 300 feet.
“It brings everything back for me,” Earl said. “But it is a very fitting memorial for all those that passed, who got killed in Vietnam.”
Photos: Traveling Memorial Wall
The wall, like the original, lists more than 58,000 veterans killed during the Vietnam War, including many Earl fought alongside.
“I’ve got too many guys right on this wall,” he said.
Villages resident Gay Bolanowski sees the traveling wall as a reminder of a part of U.S. history “that is somewhat forgotten.”
“I think it’s a very emotional idea,” she said. “And it’s very good for the people who have lost loved ones that would never be able to see it anywhere else.”
It is a bittersweet and emotional thing to see, Earl said. He hopes others will feel its impact as well.
Area residents will be able to see the wall at the Lady Lake Soccer Field through Friday.
WFTV
