THE WALL THAT HEALS AT YORK FAIRGROUNDS

FOR FOURTH OF JULY

 Washington, D.C. – Etched into the black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC are the names of 3,144 Pennsylvanians who gave all for their country.  Of those names, 70 are from York County.

As part of York’s Fourth of July celebrations, BAE System's is sponsoring The Wall That Heals, a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, to be displayed July 3 through 6 at York County Fairgrounds.  The traveling monument and Mobile Education Center – full of artifacts left at The Wall and displays regarding the era – inspires education of service and respect towards Veterans in all those who attend. 

VVMF asks that anyone with a photograph of a soldier killed while serving in the Vietnam War bring the photo to The Wall That Heals stop in York.  These photos will be digitally scanned as part of VVMF’s Call For Photos – the campaign to collect a picture of each of the 58,272 service members listed on The Wall.  Of the 3,144 names on The Wall from Pennsylvania, only 1,591 photos have been collected to date – leaving 1,553 left to find.  Collected photos will be displayed at the Education Center at The Wall – a state of the art facility to be built on the National Mall in Washington DC to educate visitors on the values of service of America’s armed forces and the history of the Vietnam War.

Jan C. Scruggs, the original founder of The Wall, and VVMF staff are available for interviews to discuss the history of The Wall and the future Education Center at The Wall.  More info on the Call For Photos can be found on VVMF’s website at www.vvmf.org/CallForPhotos

Wendell Lewis Day

York, PA

Honored on Panel 25E, Row 6 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

“I was a student at Hannah Penn Junior High School in York, PA, with Wendell. As a seventh grader trying out for the football team, I encountered Wendell "head on," you might say. He was known as "Puddy" to his friends and his sister, "Sissy," was a friend of mine. While Wendell and I butted shoulders on the football field (to my detriment and pain), Sissy and I got along famously -- even flirted in our classes together. It was a different time, but no less a time of affection between people caught up in the turbulence of our times. My memory of Wendell serves me still, and I am proud to have known him. We should all be proud of him. Rest in peace, my boyhood friend.”

~ Vaughn Roche

Source: Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, The Virtual Wall, www.vvmf.org/thewall  

In 1979, Jan Scruggs conceived the idea of building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., as a tribute to all who served during one of the longest wars in American history. Today, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is among the most visited memorials in the nation’s capital.

As President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Inc., Scruggs continues to lead VVMF as it enters a new phase in its mission to remember those who sacrificed in Vietnam: building the Education Center at The Wall. The Education Center will show the photos and tell the stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War, as well as celebrate the values embodied by American service members in all of our nation's wars.  

He has appeared on 60 Minutes, Nightline, Good Morning America and The Today Show as well as C-SPAN, CNN and FOX. He has written opinion articles for The Washington Post, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Timesand other national and regional publications. A national speaker and author, Scruggs has written articles on a wide range of topics, including the Civil War and the battle of Gettysburg.

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