News Release: The Wall That Heals Begins 2010 Tour

19 February 2010

The Wall That Heals traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial begins its 2010 tour schedule next week with a stop in Mesquite, Nevada.

The half-scale replica of The Wall will be displayed in Mesquite from Feb. 25-28, the first stop on a tour that will take it to more than 20 locations throughout the United States this year. In 2010, it will visit areas as widespread as California, Virginia, Texas and Iowa. The Wall That Heals will be displayed in Sturgis, South Dakota, in August during the 70th Annual Black Hills Motorcycle Rally, as a guest of Harley-Davidson. The replica will be transported to all of these sites by a semi cab donated by New Century Transportation in Westampton, N.J.

“The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., has been a powerful source of healing and remembrance for the millions of visitors who journey to our nation’s capital each year,” said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). “For those who can’t make the trip here, we created The Wall That Heals to bring the benefits of The Wall to them. I am pleased that we have so many community partners this year.”

The Wall That Heals is the only Wall replica that also includes a traveling museum and an information center, where visitors can learn more about those lost during the Vietnam War and how to find their names on The Wall.

The traveling museum is contained in nine display windows on the sides of the trailer that holds The Wall panels. Exhibits feature some of the more than 100,000 items that have been left at The Wall since it was built—including the boots and dog tags worn in Vietnam by Jan Scruggs, who led the effort to build The Wall in 1982—as well as items left at The Wall That Heals. The exhibits also feature photos and biographical information on some of the more than 58,000 individuals whose names are on The Wall. Other displays chronicle the history of The Wall and facts about the Vietnam War.

The traveling museum was designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates in New York City. Appelbaum is the exhibit designer planning the displays for The Education Center at The Wall, an underground educational facility being built on the National Mall. The traveling museum displays reflect the concepts being developed for the Education Center.

“These new exhibits will help visitors put faces to the names they see on The Wall replica, and it will show everyone what we plan to do in The Education Center when it is built,” explained Scruggs.

Last September, VVMF launched a National Call for Photos to gather pictures of every one of the more than 58,000 individuals whose names are on The Wall. These photos will be used in a special display in the Education Center, a Wall of Faces which will show their pictures on their birthdays. Thousands of photos have been submitted, but many more are needed. Beginning with the 2010 tour season, The Wall That Heals will be equipped with a scanner, so volunteers can accept photos from community members who visit the replica on its stops throughout the year.

Since its dedication in 1996, The Wall That Heals has visited more than 300 locations throughout the United States, spreading the Memorial’s healing legacy to millions. It made its first-ever international journey in 1999 when it went to Ireland to honor the Irish-born casualties of the Vietnam War. It has also traveled to Canada.

The Wall That Heals will travel throughout the United States between February and November, to more than 20 sites, but new locations are continually added throughout the year. (For dates and locations in 2010, visit www.vvmf.org, click on “The Wall That Heals,” then “2010 Tour Schedule.”)

For more information about The Wall That Heals travel schedule or how to bring it to your community, contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at (202) 393-0090, ext. 118, or e-mail dschenk@vvmf.org.

If you have a photo to contribute or want to learn more about the Education Center at The Wall, visit buildthecenter.org.

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