UNION, NJ — History came to the township of Union when The Moving Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial paid a visit from Thursday, May 18, through Monday, May 22. This half-size traveling replica of the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., has been touring the country for more than 30 years. The Moving Wall arrived in Union on Wednesday, May 17, and was set up on Thursday, May 18, in Biertuempfel Park, 1300 Winslow Ave., followed by a candlelight ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
Several local and veteran organizations participated in the candlelight ceremony, including the VFW Michael A. Kelly Post No. 2433, the Knights of Columbus Council No. 4504, the Union Elks Lodge No. 1583, the Union High School Army JROTC, the Rahway and Linden High Schools JROTC, and Union police officers and firefighters.
The Moving Wall came about when John Devitt attended the 1982 dedication of the actual memorial and was so moved that he decided to find a way to share this experience with everyone who did not have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. Devitt was joined by Norris Shears, Gerry Haver and other Vietnam veterans in building The Moving Wall. At 375 feet long and as much as 7½ feet tall, the half-scale replica first went on display in Tyler Texas in October 1084. The two structures of The Moving Wall now travel the country from April through November, spending approximately a week at each site.
During its five-day stay, the public was permitted to visit and make rubbings of the names. Slips of paper and charcoal were available on site. The names are in chronological order, according to the date of casualty. Within each day, the names are alphabetized. For POW/MIAs, the date of casualty is the date they were reported as captured or missing. Grief counselors were available and volunteers were onsite to assist visitors.
Photos by David VanDeventer