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The Wall That Heals

The Wall That Heals

Last updated on: October 20, 2026 at 2:37 pm by Beverly R. Green

The Wall That Heals 2026-10-20T14:37:35-04:00 Beverly R. Green

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The Wall That Heals/ B. Green

The Wall That Heals

I remember the Vietnam War. I was young, but I still recall the acquaintances, one a cousin who lived a couple blocks away, who were summoned to serve. I remember seeing the protests and listening to the debates of older students and adult family members, some who agreed with the country’s involvement, and some who did not. I remember the numbers of dead and injured on both sides reported like baseball scores on the evening news.

Years later, men and women returning home never knew what to expect as they entered a West Coast airport, grateful to get home alive. Often they were spat upon, assaulted, and called names for the “crime” of following orders with the intent of protecting their loved ones at home. I recall a time when the war ended for real, and my high school boyfriend enlisted in the Army, not sure if anything like that could or would happen again.

Remembering is important. That is why The Wall is so important, and why so many people visit it today, and why a traveling replica goes from place to place across this nation. Not everyone who needs it can get to Washington.

The Wall That Heals is a traveling, three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The replica is 375 feet in length and 7.5 feet in height at its tallest point. The Wall rises higher as one walks from the outermost points towards the apex, an important feature of the design of The Wall in D.C., as well.

Like the original Memorial, the names are engraved into stone. Visitors can do rubbings of individual service members’ names on paper to keep and to treasure. The replica is “constructed of Avonite, a synthetic granite, and its 140 numbered panels are supported by an aluminum frame. Machine engraving of the more than 58,000 names along with modern LED lighting provide readability of The Wall day and night.”

“As on The Wall [in Washington], the names on The Wall That Heals are listed by day of casualty. Beginning at the center/apex, the names start on the East Wall (right-hand side) working their way out to the end of that wing, picking up again at the far end of the West Wall (left-hand side) and working their way back in to the center/apex, joining the beginning and end of the war at the center.”

The Wall That Heals/ B. Green

Traveling with The Wall is a 53-foot trailer that opens up to become a museum, The War and the Wall. It features a display of hometown heroes for each place visited, a timeline of events of the Vietnam War, and personal mementos. There are knowledgeable guides to take everyone through the exhibits and answer any questions.

As we walked through, I saw a display of “the bracelets.” I had forgotten all about those bracelets! Begun in 1970 (my freshman year of high school), POW/MIA bracelets were nickel or copper plated cuffs engraved with the name of a soldier, plus that soldier’s rank and loss date. People who ordered the bracelets paid a couple dollars, and pledged to wear it until the service member returned home alive or until that person’s remains were returned to the family.

There are also letters and cards from service members, personal items that they carried, and pictures of them doing everyday, ordinary things under extraordinary circumstances.

The Wall That Heals/ B. Green

It is an incredible thing, this wall–inspiring, breath-taking, and heart-breaking. As Americans, we are incredibly blessed to reap the benefits of the sacrifices of so many men and women. It is a tribute that should not be missed.

On September 30, as The Wall moved through my hometown of St. Clairsville, Ohio, people lined the streets and roads in welcome, waving flags and blowing horns. Our whole school went out to the road. Even the band played “America the Beautiful” as a caravan of first responders, bikers, and cars escorted the truck that bore The Wall to the fairgrounds to set up. I know most of those children had no idea what all the excitement was about. But a few of us remembered.

Marty and I went to see it on that cool, sunny Saturday morning. There was a nice crowd. I cried more than once. I was not the only one.

You answered the order when your country called,

To the jungles and paddies you ran and you crawled.

Through heat and through heavy, relentless rain,

You carried your duty, your fear, and your pain.

Battle buddies beside you, you took it all,

In a hostile land, you learned to stand tall.

Through shrapnel and fire, your body was broken,

Bearing deep scars of a war seldom spoken.

Yet strength isn’t measured in stride or in steel,

But the unyielding spirit that time cannot steal.

But when you came back to the streets of your town,

There were no bright parades, and no fanfare around.

Just silence and stares where respect should have been,

And a country divided against its own kin.

So you carried the weight in the quiet and deep,

With the ghosts of the past, you struggled to sleep.

You built up a life by the work of your hands,

Far away from the mud of that hostile land.

The decades have passed, now we see more clearly:

We thank you and honor your service sincerely

Your fight is now finished, your burden is laid

With honor, like gold, for the price that you paid.

I walk free today, and of this I am sure

I will work for your memory long to endure.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”

(John 15:13).

The Wall That Heals/ B. Green

God blessyou, and God bless America!

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