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PLYMOUTH — The finishing touches are being put to the plans to bring The Wall That Heals to Plymouth on Sept. 3-8.
A group of volunteers completed making 157 large red, white and blue bows that will be placed on all the utility poles along Main Street to help welcome The Wall That Heals when it arrives, giving the town a patriotic look.
Clyde Peters, chairman of the event, said American flags that were damaged in a recent storm have been replaced and more are on the way to add to the All American patriotic theme.
“We’re ready,” Peters said at Tuesday’s committee meeting. “We have two weeks to go. It will be nice to have The Wall here to honor our veterans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”
Peters said he especially wants to recognize the families of the seven Plymouth natives who died in Vietnam:
• David Lee, Army, killed April 22, 1969.
• Leonard Bish, Army, killed May 16, 1967.
• Sterling Coates, Marines, killed July 2, 1967.
• Frank Glowiak, Army, killed Oct. 27, 1966.
• Edison Phillips, Army, killed May 21, 1969.
• Joseph Sinkewicz, Marines, killed Feb. 26, 1968.
• Daniel Witko, Army, killed June 18, 1968.
“We offer our deepest sympathy to the families of those Plymouth residents who lost their lives in Vietnam,” Peters said. “We are bringing The Wall to Plymouth to honor those seven young men and to also honor all who died in Vietnam and in all wars.”
The Wall That Heals will be staged at Huber Stadium Sept. 5-8 and will be open 24 hours a day and free to the public.
Peters said bringing the Wall to Plymouth means a lot to him because one of those young men killed in Vietnam was his nephew, David Lee, who was 18 when he was killed on April 22, 1969.
Peters was given orders for Temporary Duty and was sent home to Delaware to meet Lee’s casket to take him home.
Peters, the youngest of 17 children, was serving in Vietnam at the same time that his nephew was there.
The Wall That Heals honors the more than 3 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 Wall has touched everybody in one way or another,” Peters said.
The Wall That Heals will stage at the Mohegan Sun Arena, 255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Township on Tuesday, Sept. 3. The towns The Wall That Heals will travel through are Wilkes-Barre Township, Wilkes-Barre City, Kingston, Edwardsville, Larksville and Plymouth.
The Wall That Heals schedule
• Tuesday, Sept. 3
3 p.m. — Meet at Mohegan Sun Arena to escort The Wall That Heals to Plymouth. Motorcyclists and all participating emergency agencies will be lined up to begin procession at 4 p.m.
The route — Leaving from Mohegan Sun Arena, turn right onto Highland Park Blvd., turn right onto Mundy Street, turn left onto PA 309 (Kidder Street), continue straight onto Kidder Street, turn right onto Conyngham Avenue, turn left onto Wilkes-Barre Boulevard, turn right to Public Square, turn right on West Market Street, continue to Market Street Bridge, turn left on Route 11( Wyoming Avenue), continue to Plymouth Main Street, turn right onto Wadham Street to arrive at Huber Field/Wyoming Valley West High School.
5 p.m. — The Wall That Heals arrives in Plymouth.
• Wednesday, Sept. 4
8 a.m. — Set up of The Wall will begin. About 25-30 able-bodied volunteers are needed for six to eight hours.
6 p.m. — Volunteer training session; all volunteers are encouraged to attend . Training will last about an hour.
• Sept. 5-8
The Wall will be open each day — Sept. 5, 6, 7 — to the public for 24 hours until its break down on Sunday at 3 p.m. Volunteers will fill four-hour shifts each day. Student tours will be held between 8 a.m and 4 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 7
11 a.m. — The Wall That Heals Memorial Ceremony will be held.
• Sunday, Sept. 8
The Wall closes Sunday at 3 p.m. Break down of The Wall That Heals requires 25-30 able-bodied volunteers for five to six hours.
First responders/motorcycle clubs
All those participating in The Wall That Heals escort to Plymouth from the Mohegan Sun Arena on Sept. 3, are asked to arrive at the Arena at 3 p.m. to line up.
There will be a ride briefing at 3:45 p.m..
Procession begins at 4 p.m..
The Wall will arrive at the Wyoming Valley West High School at approximately 5 p.m.
“We are hoping for a large motorcycle presence for the escort, so please help us bring The Wall That Heals to Plymouth,” said Clyde Peters, coordinator of the event.
Participants can sign up to volunteer for other positions at: https://www.plymouthborough.org.
About The Wall That Heals
• The Wall That Heals exhibit features a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The replica 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 Washington.
• 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.
Mobile Education Center
• The 53-foot trailer that carries The Wall That Heals transforms to become a mobile Education Center. The exterior of the trailer features a timeline of “The War and The Wall” and provides additional information about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Additional exhibits give visitors a better understanding of the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the collection of items left at The Wall.
Displays include:
• Hometown Heroes — Photos of service members on The Wall who list their home of record from the local area. The photos are part of the effort to put a face to every name on The Wall and for the Wall of Faces.
• Map of Vietnam.
• In Memory Honor Roll — Photos of local Vietnam veterans honored through VVMF’s In Memory program which honors veterans who returned home and later died of Vietnam-related illnesses.
• A display of items representative of those left at The Wall in Washington, D.C. in remembrance of those on The Wall.
• Digital kiosk allows visitors to search for names using VVMF’s Wall of Faces.
• Two paper directories allow for names to be found alphabetically.
• The Gold Star Bike — Donated to VVMF by the American Gold Star Mothers in 2012, the bike is a Softail Custom Harley that pays tribute to the mothers who lost sons to the Vietnam War.
