The long black stone memorial stood stark against the gently sloping green grass of Yankee Park in Centerville. The large swath of white letters along the memorial spell out the names of 58,281 servicemen and women who died or were listed as missing in the Vietnam War.
Mike Bevis served in the Navy from 1970 to 1973.
“We lost quite a few pilots; we probably lost the plane once a week so this was — I thought it was gonna be easy but it was tough. There were tears this morning,” he said.
Bevis shares in the emotion that many attending the memorial are feeling. The Veteran works with the Centerville-Washington Foundation — which helped finance the year-long effort to bring the traveling exhibit here.
“I think there will be a big crowd that will come here until Sunday when it closes,” Bevis expressed. “I think it will be emotional. Some people had relatives in the war, some people that just remember the divided country that we had. So, I think it’s a major event.”
The sizable crowd Thursday morning saw a ceremony had all the hallmarks of a traditional service, patriotic music, a presentation of flags, the pledge of allegiance, and the Star Spangled Banner, beautifully sung by Alexis Gomez.
Several state and local officials spoke during the service — including Cindy LaPointe Dafler, the wife of a Vietnam serviceman killed in battle. She is the widow of Medal of Honor recipient SP4 Joseph Guy LaPointe, Jr.
After the speeches, people gathered along the wall to search for the names of old friends, family members — or lost comrades.
That Wall That Heals will remain on display in Yankee Park until Sunday when it will be disassembled and moved on to its next destination — so more people can reflect, grieve and heal from a war that ended almost 40 years ago.
