Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall visits Lady Lake, Apopka
A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is visiting Lady Lake and will move to Apopka next week.
The traveling memorial arrived Thursday in Lady Lake, heralded by a Facebook announcement from the chamber of commerce, which posted a video showing the exhibit’s trailer rolling into town with a police escort and a motorcycle entourage.
“Go see the Wall...” the social-media post said.
Like the original memorial, the replica — known as “The Wall That Heals” — features the names of those American service personnel who died in the unpopular war.
More than 58,000 American service men and women died in Vietnam.
The traveling wall, which has visited more than 400 U.S. cities since it was built in 1996, was made to help families heal, veterans rekindle friendships and provide a visiting opportunity for people who cannot easily travel to the nation’s capital.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin, sits on the National Mall and honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War.
People who visit the memorial at the Lady Lake soccer fields on Rolling Acres Road or next week at Kit Land Nelson Park in Apopka can make a rubbing of a name on the replica wall.
Visitors often place a piece of paper over a name on the memorial and rub a wax crayon or graphite pencil over it as a memento of a loved one. This tradition is called a “rubbing.”
The replica wall is constructed of synthetic granite and its numbered panels are supported by an aluminum frame. Modern LED lighting allows the Wall to be read day and night.
An official opening ceremony for the exhibit is set for 9 a.m. Friday at the Lady Lake soccer fields on Rolling Acres Road.
The exhibit ends Monday and moves to Apopka, where it will be on display starting Nov. 8 at Kit Land Nelson Park, 10 N. Forest Ave., a few blocks north of City Hall. The Apopka exhibit ends Nov. 12.
As with the national memorial, names on the replica are listed by day of death.