Replica will be open to public at Skyline Memorial Gardens
A traveling 240-foot-long, eight-foot-high replica of Washington D.C.’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be open to the public Friday, Nov. 9 through Monday, Nov. 12 at Skyline Memorial Gardens, 4101 N.W. Skyline Blvd.
A motorcycle escort of Vietnam veterans and members of local motorcycle clubs led a semitrailer transporting the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall to Portland Sunday.
The three-quarter-scale traveling replica of Washington D.C.’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial is being assembled at Skyline Memorial Gardens, 4101 N.W. Skyline Blvd., and will be open to the public for free visits on Friday, Nov. 9 through Monday, Nov. 12. The 240-foot-long, eight-foot-high traveling exhibit is dedicated to all Americans who served in the Vietnam War and honors all veterans of the U.S. military.
The wall’s black, reflective surface is inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 servicemen and women who died or who are missing in Vietnam. Paper and pencils will be provided so visitors can make rubbings of names etched on the wall.
The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall was created by the Dignity Memorial network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers in 1990 for Americans who might never visit the nation’s capital to experience the Vietnam Veterans Memorial firsthand.
To date, the replica has traveled to more than 200 cities across the country and has been visited by millions of Americans. This will be the final visit for the wall in Oregon.
The Opening Ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9 and will feature remarks by Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees. The Closing Ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, followed by the official closing of the wall at 5 p.m.
