Vietnam War Memorial Moving Wall coming to area

A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be in Liberty Lake from Sept. 15 to 19.

The half-size replica, known as the Moving Wall, has toured all 50 states and beyond since 1984. The stop in Liberty Lake is the only stop it will make in the West this year.

"As a military person, I would venture to guess most of us think about the military, our time in the military, our experience with others in the military on a regular basis, although we may not talk about it," said Air Force veteran Dg Garcia, the project manager who helped form the Gallant Guards of Liberty organization that coordinated bringing the Moving Wall to the Inland Northwest.

During COVID-19 lockdowns, Garcia said she kept thinking about what she wanted to do to bring the community together when the quarantines were over. With the large number of veterans and active military in Liberty Lake and the surrounding area, she wanted to give those service people and their families this special opportunity.

"I drew on my military experience and this was it," she said. "It was nothing any grander than that.

"We're all for one and one for all," she said.

The original Vietnam Veterans Memorial is about 2,500 miles away in Washington, D.C. As of May 2021, there were 58,281 names etched into the Wall representing those killed or missing in action during the Vietnam War.

"All they are are names, but these names still have feelings," Garcia said.

Post Falls' Bryan Bledsoe, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War, first saw a traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Southern California.

"I thought, 'Really, what is this?'" Bledsoe said. "I went there and, I mean, I really couldn't even approach it. It was nothing that I expected. I didn't expect the kind of emotions that were there."

He said the Moving Wall coming to Liberty Lake is important for the public as well as families and friends of those who sacrificed their lives in Vietnam, and for those who served with them who are still here.

"When you realize that each one of those names, it was a son, a father, a brother, a daughter, a mother, whoever, each one of those names had families," Bledsoe said. "Many people cared about them — their friends, co-workers before they were in the military. It's a way people can come and pay their respects."

The Moving Wall will be on display in Pavillion Park, 727 N. Molter Road, Liberty Lake.

A ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. the day it opens. Medal recipients and fallen heroes will be honored, wreaths will be placed on the Wall and words will be said in tribute to those who died in the Vietnam War.

The Moving Wall will be open 24 hours a day. It is free to visit.

Info: www.gallantguards.com or www.themovingwall.org