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Vietnam Memorial "Moving Wall" came to Ferndale. The Moving Wall is a scaled down (50%) version of the original
wall designed by Maya Lin and dedicated in 1982. The original wall is located on the National Mall of Washington DC. Names
on the Wall are in alphabetical order by date of casualty.
The Moning Wall is 253 feet long and 6n feet high.
It is made of 74 black aluminum panels with names painted in white on them. There are 58,219 men and women listed on the
wall who died while serving in the U.S. Military. On the Wall is a classmate from my electronics school at Redstone Arsenal
in Huntsville, AL. From high school, I lost two classmates, both in the Army. Whatcom County lost 25 men, four were Marines.
Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient Major General James E. Livingston was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies.
He and Captain J. A. Vargas were awarded the Medal of Honor at the battle of Dai-Do in May 1968.
I volunteered to
work on the Wall for four days. After the Wall was disassembled and loaded on the flatbed truck, a former fighter pilot talked
to us at length about our experiences and the problems facing all veterans and the Vietnam Veteran in particular. I found
working on the Wall to be a rewarding experience. It has reopened some wounds but I feel that these wounds may be able to
heal and finally be put to rest.
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