ASHEBORO, N.C. — A traveling veterans memorial is making a stop in the Triad and although it's not as big as the original monument in D.C., it's just as impactful.
The Wall That Heals memorializes the fallen veterans of the Vietnam War. The wall stretches for more than 300 feet and 58,000 names are engraved into the giant concrete wall. The traveling monument has become a place for families, living veterans, to come together and honor their fallen brothers and sisters.
One veteran told WFMY News 2, that taking time to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice is something everyone should do.
“That nice new car you have, and that house you have and that education you're getting, that's peace and it was bought with a price,” Ken Winters said. "There are 58,000 that paid the ultimate price. You can't put money on that. Those guys gave everything that they had and if nothing else we should be respectful."
However, being able to honor these veterans in Asheboro was a bit of a challenge. Out of a few hundred applications, only twenty-nine locations were chosen this year. And Asheboro is the only place in North Carolina that was chosen.
The Randolph County Veterans Services said most of the veterans it serves fought during the Vietnam War. So, having the chance to honor its vets right in their backyard was very important for the organization.
"For us and our office and what we do for a living, it needed to be here,” Rita Honeycutt said. “Because most of our veterans are Vietnam veterans so we are with them every single day and a lot of them can't get to DC either for financial reasons or physical limitations so we wanted to bring the wall to them."
The memorial is open to visitors, 24/7 until Sunday and sits at South Asheboro Middle School. If you want to volunteer to give tours or help break down the monument and load it up for the next location, click or tap this link.
If you visit the wall this website will show you pictures of each veteran and help you find which panel their names are located on.
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