Memorial Wall replica will stop in Randolph County

Janet Imrick

Randolph Hub

A replica of Washington, DC's Vietnam War Memorial Wall is coming to Asheboro in the summer. Randolph County Veterans Services announced The Wall that Heals will be on display at Randolph Community College from June 20-23, 2024.

The wall is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which honors those who died or served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War.

It will be open for 24 hours a day and include a mobile education center with exhibits that provide historical context about the Vietnam War, The Wall, and individual veterans from the local area. Just like the one in Washington, visitors can do name rubbings of any of the 58,281 service members memorialized on The Wall.

The non-profit Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), which built The Wall in DC, has taken The Wall that Heals to more than 700 U.S. communities since 1996. Elizabeth Wood, director of Randolph County Veteran Services, announced at the Randolph County Commissioners meeting that Asheboro is one of its 25 stops in 2024. She thanked Veteran Services Officer Rita Honeycutt for putting together the application to bring it to Randolph County, a process she first undertook at the beginning of the year.

The Wall That Heals will be free to visit. Honeycutt anticipates between 5,000-10,000 visitors. "Over 30 percent of our veteran population is Vietnam veterans," she said. "We owe it to them as a community to provide this healing experience."

More than 200 volunteers will be needed to guard the display, help with the assembly, and provide educational support for those four days.

Veterans Services is inviting businesses and individuals to sponsor the display. NC Senator Dave Craven, NC District 70 Rep. Brian Biggs, Randolph County Sheriff Greg Seabolt, Black Powder Smokehouse, the River Willow, American Legion Posts 87 and 45 are currently sponsors. The national program is sponsored by USAA.

At the commissioners' meeting, Honeycutt and Wood gave a preview of other upcoming events they're planning for 2024. They will have a resource event day with the Triad Veteran Coalition and plan to hold an event with Letters from Home in September.