The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, makes its only Texas stop this week on its 26th annual national tour.
The Wall replica will spend four days in Sulphur Springs, from Nov. 4 through Nov. 7, and can be found on the Sulphur Springs High School Track at 1210 Houston Street.
The Wall is open to visitors 24 hours per day and is illuminated at night. Taps is played Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 6 p.m. The Wall will close to visitors at 2 p.m. Sunday.
"The traveling exhibit 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 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam," organizers said on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.
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The Wall replica was unveiled on Veterans Day 1996 and was designed to travel to communities throughout the country. Since then, it's been displayed in nearly 700 places.
"Bringing The Wall home to communities throughout our country allows the souls enshrined on the Memorial to exist once more among family and friends in the peace and comfort of familiar surroundings. The traveling exhibit provides thousands of veterans who have been unable to cope with the prospect of facing The Wall to find the strength and courage to do so within their own communities, thus allowing the healing process to begin," organizers said on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.
The replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. The Wall tapers to a height of a few inches on the ends and rises above visitors as they walk toward the apex, a key feature of the design of The Wall in D.C.
Traveling with The Wall is a mobile Education Center where visitors can learn more about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and also see several traveling exhibits. Of note, are the local hometown heroes exhibit where photos are displayed of service members on The Wall who listed their home of record in the local area. There is also a collection of personal items left behind by visitors to the memorial in the nation's capital.
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The Wall That Heals kicked off the 2021 tour in New Bern, North Carolina in April and was scheduled to make 28 stops before the tour ends next week in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
