LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Memories of veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice more than 30 years ago will be revived this month.
The traveling Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall, a 240-foot three-quarter size replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be showcased Oct. 10-12 at Veterans Park next to the Lake Charles Civic Center.
On the way to Lake Charles, the traveling party will make stops in Hammond and at Harley-Davidson in Scott with hundreds of veterans’ motorcyle club members as well as the decorated truck carrying the wall.
The truck departs Hammond and heads to Scott Tuesday.
“The truck the wall is in is gorgeous,” said Christine Roux of Hixson Funeral Home in Lake Charles, the sponsor for the event. “The wall was in Florida, and they’ll leave Hammond at 10 that morning (Tuesday).”
The Patriot Riders will furnish American flags for the I-10 exit in Scott to guide the travelers into town.
Once the group reaches Lake Charles, O’Charley’s restaurant has agreed to feed 1,000 bikers.
The Dignity Wall will be set up on Oct. 8 and special events are planned, including a field trip for school children on Oct. 9 that offers Vietnam veterans the chance to relay their stories. There will also be a Louisiana National Guard “show and tell.”
The names of 882 Louisiana military personnel are listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, and each of those names will be read aloud in special candlelight ceremonies in Lake Charles on Oct. 11 as part of the weekend of activities.
“We will call out each veteran’s name, an honor guard will salute each name and the fire department will ring the bell,” Roux said.
After leaving Lake Charles, the wall will travel to Fort Smith, Ark., Conroe, Texas, and Las Vegas.
The replica crisscrosses the country each year, allowing millions of visitors to see and touch its black, mirror-like surface inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam.
Every exhibition is sponsored by a local Dignity Memorial provider, with the help and support of area veterans groups and civic organizations.
This program is only available in the United States.
 
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