Traveling Vietnam memorial arrives in Berwyn

BERWYN, Ill. (WLS) -- After 30 years, a traveling memorial to Vietnam veterans has arrived in west suburban Berwyn.

The Moving Wall is a half-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and is designed to bring the experience to those who can't make the trip.

"I think the whole idea behind not being able to go to Washington but bringing the moving wall to your home town, and people can come and see their loved ones, it's just something special to them I think," said Reba Wache, an organizer.

The traveling tribute honors service men and women local and otherwise who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Workers placed 61 flags representing local soldiers from the western suburbs who were killed in Vietnam as workers carefully assembled the moving wall.

It is sometimes called the "Wall that Heals" because it allows thousands of veterans who have been unable to come to grips with the prospect of facing the wall to do so in their own community.

"This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event for Berwyn, and the community has come together for this, and it's just incredible," said Berwyn Parks Commissioner Jeff Hands.

There are roughly 59,000 names listed on the wall. The wall comes as many celebrate the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

Some still struggle to find closure.

"It's just hard, these guys signed their name and they gave it up for us," said Frank Amaro, a military veteran. "So it's just hard."

It's expected that family members of fallen soldiers whose names are on the wall will attend Thursday's ceremony, where their names will be read out loud. It's also expected that 2014 Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sargent Ryan Pitts will be in attendance.