The names of thousands of fallen soldiers have come to the Tri-Cities in the form of a three-day exhibit.
Originated by Thomas and Dee Twigg of Fort McCoy, Florida, the Bringing Home the Wall exhibit is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C.
The arrival of the wall at Fremont’s DeVry University campus marks its first trip to California. It will remain on display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday, Aug. 13, at DeVry, 6600 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont.
The project started off as a table set up during Thanksgiving of 1994, to commemorate the soldiers who couldn’t be home for the holiday.
An elderly woman on oxygen approached the table in a wheelchair and inspired the Twiggs to create the traveling wall. She talked of how she would never make it to the real one in Washington, D.C. to place the medals of her deceased son, who was killed in action during the Vietnam War.
But one year later, the woman found herself doing the next best thing: She placed her son’s medals at the foot of the traveling wall the Twiggs spent a year creating.
Since then, the Twiggs have traveled with the wall throughout the country, putting it on display for people who are unable to visit Washington, D.C. Within the past two years, they’ve been doing it through partnership with DeVry University.
The exhibit was welcomed on Wednesday with a full ceremony, which included a color guard presentation by representatives with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, a performance of the national anthem and speeches.
For DeVry University President Michael Cubbin, the exhibit really did bring things home: three of his high school classmates’ names are on the wall. He encouraged people of the community to come out and pay their respects to the fallen soldiers of the Vietnam War at the exhibit.
Photograph by Lauren Lola, Union City Patch
It was just as difficult for Wayne Anthony, V director of Outreach Services and a Vietnam veteran, who was wearing his most prized possession — his dog tag — and a pair of red socks that belonged to his father, who was a World War II veteran. His father’s flag was even flying on a flag pole nearby.
The opening of the exhibit wasn’t just a moving event for those who knew people who fought in the Vietnam War but also for veterans like World War II veeran Henry Keyser who fought for our country a generation before.
To read the full story written by Lauren Lola and featured in the Union City Patch, please click here.
