Local Mobile Vietnam Wall display postponed amid COVID-19 concerns
EL CENTRO — The AV Mobile Vietnam Memorial Wall is still coming to town, but it’s no longer certain when.
City Councilman Jason Jackson shared the news Sunday in a Facebook post that display of the wall, which was set to take place from March 26 to 30 at Bucklin Park, has been postponed over public safety concerns regarding potential spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The message, attributed to VFW Adjutant Thomas Henderson, said the decision was reached “after much consideration” by the board of the AV Mobile Vietnam Memorial Wall, along with city leaders, VFW Post 9305, IVCSO’s Veteran’s Advisory Committee and the Imperial Valley Breakfast Rotary. He said plans are to reschedule the exhibit for a future date.
“This decision was not made lightly as our involvement began in June of 2018, and has taken numerous hours of planning and effort,” Henderson said. “However, it is jointly agreed that as long as COVID-19 remains an issue, it would be irresponsible to place volunteers and members of the community at risk of ‘community spread.’ Since we cannot guarantee appropriate social distancing nor appropriate disinfection, and since so many of the visitors will be from ‘at risk’ categories, we have agreed to reschedule at some time in the future.”
The AV Wall is an exact half-scale replica created in 2009 of the actual Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It consists of two walls, 123 feet, 4 inches in length, meeting at an angle of 125 degrees, 12 minutes. It is engraved with the names of more than 58,276 service members who were killed in Vietnam from Nov. 1, 1955, until May 15, 1975.
The replica is cared for by Point Man Antelope
Valley, a veterans outreach organization based in Lancaster, Calif. It has been displayed in many locations throughout the state.
VFW Post 9305, in El Centro, raised the funds to bring the monument to Imperial County. Rental of the monument is $7,500, and there are several additional costs associated with constructing and displaying it, including infrastructure and insurance.
The post raised $12,500 for the project, of which $6,500 was pledged by the Imperial Valley Rotary and the rest was approved by the County Board of Supervisors from Community Benefit funds.
“We know this is disappointing to so many that have devoted so much time into making this program a success,” Henderson said of the postponement. “However, we believe we have a responsibility to the entire community to protect all our citizens. It is our hope that once we have rescheduled you will consider volunteering and participating at that time.”