News Release: The Wall That Heals begins 2011 tour

30 March 2011

The Wall That Heals traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial begins its 2011 tour schedule later this week with a stop in Concord, North Carolina.

The half-scale replica of The Wall will be displayed in Concord from March 31 through April 3, the first stop on a tour that will take it to more than 20 locations throughout the United States this year.

In 2011, it will visit several communities in Texas, as well as California, Connecticut, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, California, Indiana and Georgia. The Wall That Heals will be displayed once again in Sturgis, South Dakota, in August during the 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), which sponsors The Wall That Heals. “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.”

National sponsors of The Wall That Heals include FedEx, Disabled America Veterans (DAV) Charitable Trust, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, GEICO and New Century Transportation.

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 transports The Wall. Exhibits feature some of the more than 150,000 items that have been left at The Wall since it was built, 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 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.

VVMF launched a National Call for Photos in 2009 to gather photos and stories about every one of the more than 58,000 individuals whose names are on The Wall. The photos and remembrances will be used in the Education Center when it is built, and are being shared immediately on VVMF’s Virtual Wall online (www.vvmf.org/thewall.) Thousands of photos have been submitted, but many more are needed. The Wall That Heals is equipped with a scanner, so volunteers can accept photos and stories 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 350 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 March and November, to more than 20 sites, but new locations are continually added throughout the year. (For dates and locations in 2011, visit www.vvmf.org/twthtour.)

For more information about The Wall That Heals travel schedule or how to bring it to your community, contact Martin Kobylarczyk at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund: (202) 393-0090, ext. 117, or e-mail mkobylarczyk@vvmf.org.

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

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