The Moving Wall arrives in Yazoo City today and after its assembly by Vietnam veterans, it will be open to the public Thursday afternoon until Monday.
The Yazoo community was fortunate enough to welcome the Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica, which has not been in the area for several years.
“The Vietnam Moving Wall has not been in this area for decades and will probably not be scheduled again for several years,” said Pat Brock, who was instrumental in securing The Moving Wall for Yazoo. “It is an honor for the greater Yazoo area to be hosting this memorial to our brave men and women who have sacrificed so much including some of their lives.”
The Wall will arrive this afternoon in Yazoo City with the Mississippi Highway Patrol and Patriot Guard escorts from Jackson. It will then be assembled by Vietnam veterans early Thursday morning at the former Yazoo Motor Company site with free public viewing scheduled to begin around 1 p.m.
Public viewing will be available 24-hours per day Thursday through Monday at noon.
The Vietnam Museum, "Through The Eyes," will also be on site. This mobile museum provides a history of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a soldier.
A dedication ceremony will be held on Friday beginning promptly at 11 a.m.
And a Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony honoring all Vietnam veterans will also be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. Hosted by the First Baptist Church of Yazoo City, this ceremony will included a reading Vietnam veterans’ names.
Brock said the local community has really come together to provide a warm welcome and a grateful appreciation to the Vietnam veterans and their families.
“We, as a community, can try to show the families that we remember their loved ones,” Brock said. “We can give the ‘welcome home, soldier’ to so many veterans who did not hear that when coming home from the Vietnam War.”
Brock said she also hopes The Moving Wall will provide information for the younger generations, paticularly with the Through the Eyes museum.
“The historical lessons need to be shown to younger generations so they can have a fuller realization of the realities of what this generation of military service actually endured,” Brock said. “To use a quote seen on social media lately ‘not all of the 60s generation wore love beads, some wore dog tags.’”
Moving Wall has been highly anticipated since news of its arrival was announced several months ago. Brock said the community and its volunteers are the driving force behind the preparation and operation of The Wall during its visit in Yazoo.
“The very talented people of Yazoo County have stepped forward as they always do when the call for help goes out,” Brock said. “These are all quiet, hard-working folks who don't do it for the glory or publicity. “They just want to help acknowledge the men and women who have made our freedom possible.”
From clearing the site to providing landscaping to providing assistance during the viewings, it has all been done thanks to volunteers and donations.
“God has been in control of this whole event planning and preparation of the site,” Brock said. “He has provided the people with the necessary skills to make this happen with hearts humble enough to step forward and give freely of their talents. Those of us who have worked on this from conception to full-bloom feel privileged to call these volunteers ‘our neighbors’.
