The Moving Wall is Coming to Pennsylvania in July of 2024
TIOGA, PENNSYLVANIA (WENY) -- The Moving Wall, a half-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., is coming to the Northern Tier this summer. The Moving Wall will be at Williamson High School in Tioga County, Pennsylvania from July 10th until July 15th.
"[The Moving Wall] has been traveling the country for more than 40 years to small cities and towns across the United States. It gives people the opportunity to visit the Wall, who may not have the chance to make it to Washington, D.C. We are bringing it here to their hometown to give them a chance to be able to appreciate a valuable piece of American history," said the Chair of the Tioga County Moving Wall Committee, Jessica Barron.
William Butterfield, the principal of Williamson High School said the Tioga County Moving Wall Committee reached out to see if the school would be willing to host the Wall. He said they were more than happy to oblige and believes it's important to be able to pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"To be a veteran and have served, I was fortunate to come home to a country that openly thanked and embraced us. That wasn't the case for Vietnam veterans. Having Vietnam veterans in my family, being a historian, and being a veteran, anyway we can help, thank, heal that wound, and give a proper welcome to those [who] served and made the ultimate sacrifice to me... is just a bonus in what I get to do every day," said Butterfield.
Vietnam veteran Ken Leone is inviting everyone to come and see the wall in July. He said it's a way to honor the more than 58,000 fallen service members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"I know there's at least a dozen names on the Wall while I was there [who] perished, were killed, drowned, [or] hit by booby traps; young men who never got a chance to have a family [and their] grandchildren like I have. It breaks my heart they had to go through that and then end up giving the ultimate sacrifice," said Leone.
Opening ceremonies will begin on July 10th at 3 p.m. at Williamson High School. The Moving Wall will be open continuously for those who wish to visit.
Barron said they are looking for many volunteers, from motorcycle riders to escort the Wall on July 10th, to security and EMS, to people willing to help read the names of the 58,000+ fallen service members on the Wall.
"All the guys [who] served with me both who are dead and those who are living, they're our brothers. We got real close and I'm very emotional. I really want people to understand what they gave in the Vietnam War," said Leone.
If you would like to volunteer for the Moving Wall when it comes to Tioga, Pennsylvania, click here.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 1982, and an attendee by the name of John Devitt felt the "positive power of the Wall." He vowed to share what he felt with those who didn't have the opportunity to see it in D.C.
Devitt, Norris Shears, Gerry Haver, and other Vietnam veteran volunteers worked to build The Moving Wall. It was displayed for the first time in October 1983 in Tyler, Texas. Now, two structures of The Moving Wall travel the country from April through November, spending about a week at each location.
The Moving Wall most recently visited the area in 2022, coming to Eldridge Park in Elmira.