Public Urged to Visit Traveling Vietnam Wall in Putnam

Sep 19, 2022 Examiner Media Carmel

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell and Service Agency Director Karl Rohde are urging schools and families to take advantage of an event that will give local meaning to national history and bring students to see the Traveling Vietnam Wall when it visits Carmel this week.

The Traveling Vietnam Wall will be on display at the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park from noon on Thursday, Sept. 22 until 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 and will be open for visits 24 hours a day.

“This is a great educational opportunity,” Odell said. “Not only can students see a version of the Vietnam Wall without having to go to D.C., but they will have the chance to meet with local veterans from Putnam County who may have served in the war. It’s a good example to show the students how national history is also local history.”

The Traveling Wall is an 80 percent scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. This visit will include The American Traveling Tribute, a display that features every war America has been involved in from the Revolutionary War right up to today, and a half-size replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This event is a collaboration between the Putnam County Veterans Service Agency and the Putnam County Joint Veterans Council (PCJVC). The PCJVC is a local non-profit Veterans Service Organization.

“We believe that this is an excellent educational and community service opportunity,” Rohde wrote in a letter to school officials throughout the region. “We know it’s early in the school year, but It is our hope that you can present the students at your school with this gift.”

A motorcycle convoy will meet at the rest area on northbound I-684 in Southeast at 3 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 21 and escort The Traveling Wall to the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park. Motorcycle riders are encouraged to join.

Buses will be available to transport visitors round trip from Putnam Plaza and the Putnam County Office Building to the park to see the wall. The buses will run from the Tops Store at Putnam Plaza every hour on the hour from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 22-24. They will stop at the county office building 10 minutes after the hour. Please see the attached Traveling Wall Public Transportation schedule for details.

The closing ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Sept. 25, which is Gold Star Mother’s Day, and will feature a concert by The Hudson Valley Council Band.

This is a press release provided by the organization. It has been lightly edited and is being published by Examiner Media as a public service.