The Wall That Heals visit to Clinton Township is postponed until 2021

NEW DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED

​CLINTON TOWNSHIP – It is with a great deal of sadness that Supervisor Bob Cannon announced Friday that The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along with a mobile Education Center, will no longer be coming to Clinton Township from September 10 to September 13, 2020.  The Wall That Heals was due to return to Clinton Township for the third time in 10 years, a remarkable accomplishment that few other communities in the United States can boast.
 
The event, which is hosted by Clinton Township on the grounds of the Civic Center and supported by generous sponsors, would have brought the preeminent replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the area for Vietnam veterans, family members, and other members of the public.  “Clinton Township and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund jointly decided to postpone the visit out of an abundance of caution for our visitors and volunteers,” said Cannon “While disappointed, this decision has become necessary. We already are looking at dates in 2021 to reschedule this important event,” he said.
 
The Wall That Heals honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed forces in the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,276 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
 
“The decision to cancel felt like a sucker punch to the stomach.  Our office spent months planning out very detailed safety measures so that we could host responsibly” Cannon said,  “The unpredictable factors surrounding COVID-19 continue to make it difficult to plan for just about anything, and yet we were so hopeful that the September dates would work, ” he said.
 
Deputy Supervisor Liz Vogel echoed Cannon’s sentiments. “When we hosted the wall in 2015, I met many wonderful members of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 154.  They became my buddies.  We laughed together and cried together.  The Wall That Heals really is just that—a healing wall,” said Vogel. “What I didn’t know then is that I would make new friends that I still have today, which has been a blessing,” she said.
 
The good news is that Clinton Township is guaranteed to host The Wall That Heals in 2021 or 2022.  Cannon will share the news of rescheduled dates as soon as practicable. 
 
About The Wall That Heals
 
The Wall That Heals is transported from community to community in a 53-foot trailer.  When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides, allowing it to serve as a mobile Education Center telling the story of the Vietnam War, The Wall, and the divisive era in American history.
 
The three-quarter scale Wall replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors will experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of The Wall in D.C. Visitors can do name rubbings of individual service member’s names on The Wall.
 
The mobile Education Center display includes digital photo displays of “Hometown Heroes” – service members whose names are on The Wall that list their home of record within the area of a visit and the “In Memory Honor Roll” – Vietnam veterans from the local area honored through VVMF’s In Memory program which honors veterans who returned home from Vietnam and later died as a result of their service. A display of items representative of those left¬ at The Wall in D.C. tell the story of the Vietnam War, The Wall and the era surrounding the conflict.
 
The 2020 national The Wall That Heals tour is generously sponsored by USAA and transported thousands of miles across the country each year through a partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and the trucking industry.
More than 300,000 people visited The Wall That Heals exhibit in 2019. Since its debut in 1996, the exhibit has been displayed in nearly 600 U.S. communities in addition to an April 1999 tour of the Four Provinces of Ireland and a visit to Canada in 2005.
 
The Wall That Heals is a program of VVMF, the nonprofit organization that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1982. The Wall That Heals is the only traveling exhibit affiliated with The Wall in Washington, D.C., and includes the largest Wall replica that travels the country. Two VVMF staff members lead volunteers on site, educate visitors and students, and ensure the reflective atmosphere of The Wall. For more information, go to www.thewallthatheals.org.
 
About VVMF
 
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is the nonprofit organization that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall) in Washington, D.C., in 1982. VVMF continues to lead the way in paying tribute to our nation’s Vietnam veterans and their families. VVMF’s mission is to honor and preserve the legacy of service in America and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War and era through programs, ceremonies, and education materials. To learn more about VVMF, visit www.vvmf.org, or call 202-393-0090.