VISITORS HONOR 'THE WALL': Emotions Run High as Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall Arrives
CHICO — John Robert Adams’ remains were never recovered after he was killed in action in Laos during the Vietnam War, though his Chico High School student ID card would later be discovered and brought home.
Adams was one of 58,318 names etched into the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall that was carefully placed outside of the Chico Elks Lodge on Thursday morning, where it will stand until noon Monday.
Veteran John Herbert, who helped spearhead getting the wall to Chico, devoted his recent days to setting up for the wall’s arrival. Herbert said the wall also has the names of eight women who were nurses during the war as well as three sets of father and sons.
“The first registered deceased, killed in action, was Richard Fitzgibbons and he was killed in June 1956,” Herbert said. “His son, Richard Fitzgibbons the third, was killed in 1965. There were three sets of father and son. There are 31 sets of brothers. There are eight women on the wall. The youngest name on the wall is a 15-year-old by the name of Dan Bullock. There are five 16-year-olds and there are 12 17-year-olds.”
At 3 p.m. Thursday, the wall officially opened to the public and visitors immediately began trickling in and making their way to the structure. A group of volunteers ran a booth where visitors could ask for specific names and would be given a side and a number for where on the wall that name was located.
A poster featured local names that could be found on the wall from Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties. Next to the poster was a map of the warzone where visitors could push in pins at the location where their loved ones were killed.
Tawni Smith could be found kneeling down next to the wall not long after the opening with his finger gently running along the names. Smith arrived earlier that morning to see the wall be driven in.
“My father was killed in action,” Smith said. “And today was the first time that I’ve ever been able to watch the whole motorcade come in. I was actually able to help put it up.”
Some bowed their heads in silence once they found their loved ones’ names. Others were moved to tears upon seeing the names of those they served with.
Cyndi Arregui visited the wall alongside her daughter, Jenna McCarthy, to find the name of Arregui’s uncle who was killed during the war, though Arregui noted that the importance of the memorial was far larger than just her own loss.
“All of those who were there, they still need to be honored,” Arregui said. “And I think all of our vets need to be honored all the time.”
“This is an entire wall of sacrifice for our country,” McCarthy added. “And I think it’s something that everybody should have the privilege of seeing. These people who have sacrificed their lives deserve the recognition for what they’ve done for us.”
Vietnam Veteran Bob Mulholland has been instrumental in getting the wall to Chico, but the road to making the plan come to fruition has certainly meandered. There are two traveling walls, The Wall that Heals is a three-quarters replica of the wall in Washington DC and was originally where Mulholland and Herbert had their sights set, but were ultimately turned down because of the considerable tree coverage. The crew turned their attention to the Traveling Wall, which is a half-sized replica.
Mulholland said the setup on Thursday morning took a lot of manpower.
“They took one panel at a time off the tractor and walked it over there and the man who drives it around sealed it down,” Mulholland said. “It takes a lot of work.”
The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall will be open 24 hours a day until noon Monday. Security and volunteers will remain on staff through the weekend.
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