The Wall That Heals in Mississippi through Sunday

From now through 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, visitors will have the opportunity to visit a three-quarter sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Columbia, Miss.

The Wall That Heals is a replica of the world-famous memorial in Washington, D.C. It is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of The Wall in D.C.

The replica will be available to visitors in Columbia 24 hours a day until it is taken down Sunday afternoon.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund unveiled the first replica on Veterans Day 1996. It was designed to travel to communities throughout the United States. Since its dedication, The Wall That Heals has been displayed at nearly 600 communities throughout the nation, spreading the Memorial’s healing legacy to millions. The stop in Columbia is the final destination in 2019, and the first stop ever in Mississippi.

“There were over 100 applicants for this last stop of the tour,” Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie told the Clarion Ledger. “We were honored to have been selected.”

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.

In addition to the replica, a mobile education center will also be open to visitors.

Like the original Memorial, The Wall That Heals is erected in a chevron-shape and visitors can do name rubbings of individual service member’s names on The Wall. The replica is constructed of Avonite, a synthetic granite, and its 140 numbered panels are supported by an aluminum frame. Machine engraving of the more than 58,000 names of those who lost their lives in Vietnam along with modern LED lighting provide readability day and night.

As on The Wall in D.C., the names on The Wall That Heals are listed by day of casualty. Beginning at the center/apex, the names start on the East Wall (right-hand side) working their way out to the end of that wing, picking up again at the far end of the West Wall (left-hand side) and working their way back in to the center/apex, joining the beginning and end of the conflict at the center.

For more information including a map to the Columbia site and a schedule of events, visit the VVMF website and the event Facebook page.