The Wall That Heals to be on display in Fayette County in October

“This is the area’s opportunity to pay respects and reflect on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War in a familiar setting being Fayette County,” said Daniel Cocks, the executive director of the FCCT, which is working to bring the display to the county.

The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. that honors the 3 million Americans who served in the Vietnam War. The replica lists 58,281 names of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam and is part of a mobile education center transported from community to community in a 53-foot trailer.

When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides that tell the story of the Vietnam War, The Wall and the divisive era in American history. The wall replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point.

Since its debut in 1996, the mobile exhibit has been on display in more than 700 U.S. communities in addition to an April 1999 tour in Ireland and a visit to Canada in 2005.

Cocks said 49 service members from Fayette County lost their lives during the Vietnam War and 693 service members lost their lives in the counties surrounding Fayette.

The fee for a community to host the wall is $11,000.

Cocks said, so far, they’ve raised $7,500 and want to raise over the needed $11,000 to help cover the cost of printed brochures for the event as well as signage, renting portable restrooms and other items related to the display.

Recently, three check presentations were made at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus where the wall will be on display at the campus baseball field.

The Daughters of the American Revolution - Fort Necessity Chapter donated $2,000 toward the effort, the county commissioners donated $5,000 and Armstrong Cable donated $500.

“All people and organizations that donated will be listed on the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War program brochure during the October event,” Cocks said.

He added that they’ve received confirmation from Rolling Thunder and AMVETS Post 103 in Hopwood that they will be escorting the wall to Penn State Fayette once it arrives in the county.

The Wall That Heals and its education center will be at the campus from Oct. 12 to 15, and will be open 24 hours a day. Attendance comes at no cost to the public.

Cocks said they created a special issue of the magazine “Connellsville Crossroads” which has the photos of all the local 693 service members that lost their lives. To view the magazine online and to learn more information about the event including volunteer opportunities and organizing group visits by schools and organizations, visit www.fayettetrust.org/wall-that-heals-2023.

Anyone interested in donating can email the Fayette County Cultural Trust at fcctrust@zoominternet.net.