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PLYMOUTH — Waiting to escort The Wall That Heals in the parking lot of the Mohegan Sun Arena, Jim Walsh searched for words to describe how he felt.
Standing in the shade of the truck carrying The Wall, the Vietnam-era Army veteran finally spoke.
“How can you put into words how we all feel about The Wall coming to our area,” Walsh, of Dushore, said. “All I can say is that it’s an honor to have The Wall here and to be part of this escort.”
With an escort of hundreds of motorcycles, police cruisers, fire trucks and emergency vehicles, The Wall That Heals arrived in Plymouth where it will be staged through Sunday, Sept. 8.
Bret Shoemaker of Laceyville, a U.S. Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm, agreed with Walsh.
“This offers a lot of respect to the men and women who served in Vietnam and gave it all for the rest of us,” said Shoemaker, who served between 1984 and 1992. “Finally, Vietnam veterans are getting the respect they have always deserved.”
Clyde Peters, a Vietnam veteran and manager of the Plymouth Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1425, spearheaded the effort to bring the Wall to his hometown.
“All I can say is that I am very proud to be here today,” Peters said. “And I want to thank all of the people who came out to welcome The Wall to Plymouth.”
The Wall will be staged at Huber Stadium on the campus of Wyoming Valley West High School and will be open 24 hours a day and free to the public. Volunteers will assemble The Wall on Wednesday.
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 — 75 from Luzerne County, including seven from Plymouth.
Janet Coates, widow of Capt. Sterling Coates, one of the seven Plymouth soldiers killed in Vietnam, greeted The Wall and the drivers of the escort vehicles.
“I’m very grateful that all of these people came out to support this,” Coates said. “It is so wonderful to see the Vietnam veterans getting such deserved respect.”
Julianna Blaylock, outreach/site manager for The Wall That Heals, said she was happy to have the display in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Blaylock grew up in Honesdale and she graduated from Honesdale High School.
Blaylock said more than 100 towns across the country apply to have The Wall come to their area, with 30 to 40 selected as stops. She said the only other Pennsylvania stop this year for The Wall will be in Indiana later in the year.
“Clyde and his committee and the entire town really did a great job putting this together,” Blaylock said. “This will be a great week.”
Frank Coughlin, president of Plymouth Borough Council, said he was proud to see the town turn out for The Wall’s arrival.
“This shows that the people are behind this event and they are behind bringing Plymouth back,” Coughlin said. “Councilman John Thomas and I had tears in our eyes when we saw all the people.”
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.
The Wall schedule
• Now through Sept. 8
The Wall will be open each day — Sept. 5, 6, 7 — to the public for 24 hours until its break down on Sunday, Sept. 8, 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.
