Replica of Vietnam Memorial coming to Pigeon Forge
The Tennessee Museum of Aviation will play host over Labor Day Weekend to a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
For Rhonda Melton, operations coordinator at the museum, it's a tribute to her late father, Earl Mysinger. He was a Vietnam vet himself, and he had hoped to bring the wall back to Sevier County.
"He told me he would help me put up the wall if we could bring it here," she said. "He had been to Washington, D.C. and saw the wall and he went to Jackson, Tenn., to visit his brother and saw the traveling version. That's where it all started out, was with him."
Her father died last year on the Fourth of July, but she still planned to honor his wishes by bringing the wall to Sevier County for another visit.
In 2002, the wall was in Pigeon Forge for the Celebrate Freedom festival at Patriot Park. This will be its first visit since.
"We're very excited about getting it here," Melton said.
The wall is about half the size of the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
There are actually two Moving Walls that are transported around the country by Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd. They each travel to about 50 different towns throughout the year, Melton said. The group is not affiliated with the National Park Service.
The travelling walls serve to educate people about the Vietnam War, and to let people who might not be able to visit the memorial in Washington, D.C. experience the memorials.
The schedule calls for the wall to be set up by noon Aug. 28, with an opening ceremony at 6:30 that evening.
There is no fee for visiting the memorial, which will be open 24 hours a day until it 8 a.m. Sept. 2, when crews will start taking it down for transport to its next display.
Parking may be limited, but Melton said that officials with Evergreen Presbyterian Church, located in front of the museum on Dolly Parton Parkway, have agreed to let visitors use their parking as well. The museum will provide a shuttle to the memorial.
Local veteran groups have already been volunteering to help as guides or in other capacities, Melton said.
"We've had a lot of local veterans wanting to help," she said.
Information courtesy of The Mountain Press
For Rhonda Melton, operations coordinator at the museum, it's a tribute to her late father, Earl Mysinger. He was a Vietnam vet himself, and he had hoped to bring the wall back to Sevier County.
"He told me he would help me put up the wall if we could bring it here," she said. "He had been to Washington, D.C. and saw the wall and he went to Jackson, Tenn., to visit his brother and saw the traveling version. That's where it all started out, was with him."
Her father died last year on the Fourth of July, but she still planned to honor his wishes by bringing the wall to Sevier County for another visit.
In 2002, the wall was in Pigeon Forge for the Celebrate Freedom festival at Patriot Park. This will be its first visit since.
"We're very excited about getting it here," Melton said.
The wall is about half the size of the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
There are actually two Moving Walls that are transported around the country by Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd. They each travel to about 50 different towns throughout the year, Melton said. The group is not affiliated with the National Park Service.
The travelling walls serve to educate people about the Vietnam War, and to let people who might not be able to visit the memorial in Washington, D.C. experience the memorials.
The schedule calls for the wall to be set up by noon Aug. 28, with an opening ceremony at 6:30 that evening.
There is no fee for visiting the memorial, which will be open 24 hours a day until it 8 a.m. Sept. 2, when crews will start taking it down for transport to its next display.
Parking may be limited, but Melton said that officials with Evergreen Presbyterian Church, located in front of the museum on Dolly Parton Parkway, have agreed to let visitors use their parking as well. The museum will provide a shuttle to the memorial.
Local veteran groups have already been volunteering to help as guides or in other capacities, Melton said.
"We've had a lot of local veterans wanting to help," she said.
Information courtesy of The Mountain Press
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