LAKEPORT ? Approximately 23 Patriot Guard Riders welcomed the Vietnam Moving Wall to Lakeport with a motorcycle escort down Main Street to the Lake County Fairgrounds Monday morning.
“I feel blessed, personally blessed,” rider Kenneth Scott said. “It makes my heart feel good. That”s why I do this.”
The wall will be in Lake County through Monday. The opening ceremony is today at 9 a.m., and the wall will be available for viewing 24 hours a day free of charge. Counseling will be available in a support services tent, and a directory of the names will be available.
The wall is a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Founder John Devitt of White Pine, Mich. said he viewed the permanent wall in 1982, and his desire to share the experience snowballed.
“I wanted to share it with guys I knew couldn”t get to Washington. I thought a year or a year and a half would cover it, and it”s been 25 years,” Devitt said.
Small groups of spectators gathered to find the names of friends and comrades on the wall as the panels were assembled in a V-shape near the entrance to the fairgrounds for all to see. Lakeport resident Cathy Peterson said she found the names of three high school friends who had joined the military immediately after graduating.
“I didn”t think it would be this emotional,” Peterson said through tears. “They joined right after high school. They weren”t ready for this.”
Peterson said she didn”t know one of the men was dead until she saw his name on the Moving Wall Thursday morning. She had believed he was missing in action.
Peterson had brought paper and pencil to do a rubbing of the names to send to the men”s families.
Devitt said viewers are welcome to do rubbings, but pens and pencils would scratch the wall”s surface. He said crayons will be available for rubbings.
Patriot Guard California State Captain Rich Biddlecome said the wall represented a change in America”s attitude regarding its military veterans since Vietnam, when soldiers returned from combat to face ridicule.
“One thing that”s really refreshing to see, the people in this country today, when a soldier comes home, when a soldier gets killed, they rally around and support the family. We didn”t see that in Vietnam ? This country”s come a long way since I came home, and you didn”t want to fly in uniform,” Biddlecome said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
