LAKE COUNTY- The “Moving Wall” comes to Lake County Fairgrounds June 11 to 15. It”s free to view 24 hours a day, for the duration of the time the wall is displayed in Lakeport.
It is constructed for those who cannot travel to Washington D.C. to view the Vietnam Veteran”s Memorial wall. So the wall comes to them.
“My vice president, George Dorner, and I made out the application to the Vietnam Combat Veterans Ltd., there are a few other moving walls out there that are copies of the original moving wall. We wanted the original. It”s hard to get. It”s in high demand. It took us two years to get it,” Dean Gotham, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 951 of Lakeport, said.
There are 58,256 names on the 252.8 foot, V-shaped, aluminum, tribute to those who gave their lives in the Vietnam War.
The names of these eight Lake County men are on the wall: William Robert Moore, Lewis Daniel Grothe, David Carl Lindberg, Paul Wayne Hill, William Ernest Adams, George Lee Silva, Darryl Wayne Shuster and Robert Thomas Mills.
The names on the wall appear in chronological order based on the date of death. The names include confirmed casualties, as well as those who remain missing.
Gotham said he was elated when he found out that the wall would be brought to Lake County.
“It had been so long since we applied. I found out in February that we”re the only northern California location. It will go to Cathedral City down south, but that”s it for the state,” Gotham said.
He said he”s getting a lot of calls from motorcycle groups interested in viewing the wall from all over the state.
“Everyone would benefit from being a part of this rare opportunity,” Gotham said.
For Gotham, becoming involved is a part of his treatment plan. He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and attended the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder inpatient rehabilitation program in Menlo Park.
“It turned my life around. I am so grateful for the help. I, in-turn, help veterans any way I can. Being involved with this fit my treatment goals to a tee,” he said.
Gotham enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 19 in 1967. He felt compelled to serve his country, he said.
Though Gotham has some anxiety about the emotions the wall might stir, he thinks it”s important to help him and others heal.
For those interested in supporting the Moving Wall in Lake County, contact VVA Chapter 951, P.O. Box 1313, Lakeport, Calif. 95453.
