thedrifter
06-20-06, 05:47 AM
Posted on Tue, Jun. 20, 2006
Vietnam memorial travels to Arlington for weekend
By HEATHER ANN WHITE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
ARLINGTON -- Every time the replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial comes near the Arlington-Fort Worth area, A.L. McCluney volunteers to help any way he can.
This month, the Korean War veteran from Hurst helped spread the word that the replica will roll down the road today in an 18-wheeler painted with an American flag. Organizers said the truck will be flanked by about 100 motorcycles when it leaves Texas Motor Speedway at 9 a.m. en route to Moore Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens in Arlington.
"I haven't decided where I'll be yet," McCluney, 75, said Monday. "But Tifany, my dog, and I will be watching.
"Those guys laid it on the line when the chips were down. Those guys in the military ... they're my heroes," said McCluney, who'll be wearing his VMF 112 fighter squadron cap.
That's why it was important to him to encourage government officials, Marines, churches, organizations and businesses to line Texas 10 as the truck passes some time between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. today, he said.
"Hopefully, this will be the homecoming parade the veterans never received," said Jamie Jewell, community outreach coordinator for Dignity Memorial Funeral Providers, which is helping sponsor the wall's visit to Arlington.
The public can view the replica, the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall, for free Friday through Sunday at the funeral home. The faux-granite wall is 240 feet long and 8 feet tall and includes the names of more than 58,000 veterans who died.
The wall was created in 1990 by Dignity Memorial to honor the veterans and give closure to their friends and family, said Gary Westerman, location manager of Moore Funeral Home.
McCluney is one of the volunteers who will help people find the names of loved ones on the wall.
He said he began volunteering six or seven years ago when he heard the replica was coming to town.
McCluney, who serves on the Tarrant County Veterans Council and is a member of a Tarrant County group that helps Marines, said he had uncles and cousins in the Vietnam War who survived. He said he has seen the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., five or six times. Paying tribute to veterans -- no matter what war -- is important, McCluney said.
"I'm just not going to forget," he said. "People in school now, they don't teach history. They don't teach history like it should be."
McCluney said that when he volunteers, he hears touching stories about people whose names appear on the wall.
"A lot of people will leave notes and flowers," he said. "It's very moving. It will certainly put tears in your eyes if you haven't seen it."
Once, he saw a woman bring her son to the wall and point to a name.
"She said, 'Now, son, that was your dad,'" he said.
The boy had never seen the name before visiting the traveling memorial, McCluney said.
Even though he doesn't know any of the people whose names are on the wall, McCluney said he is grateful for the people who laid their lives on the line. He said the wall is a great honor.
"Those guys won't be there in person, but they'll be there in spirit," he said. "If you close your eyes for a minute, you'll see the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and the nurses who were there."
Jewell, the community outreach coordinator for Dignity Memorial Funeral Providers, said the memorial helps people who don't get the chance to see loved ones' names engraved on the real wall.
"This might be their only chance to pay tribute to the veterans in the war," she said.
The replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has traveled to several Texas cities over the years. It was last in Arlington in 1991.
Its last stop was Wichita Falls. It will be on display in Mission on June 30 and Houston on July 7, before traveling to Portland, Maine, in August.
Westerman, of the Moore Funeral Home, said the wall travels to about 18 to 20 cities across the nation every year. The wall has been displayed in more than 200 cities since 1990.
Weekend events include a candlelight service and an F-18 jet fly-over by the Strike Fighter Squadron beginning at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
Jewell said it's important, especially for children, to visit the wall.
"History is more than pages in a book," she said. "Every person on that wall died. That's a lot of names."
IN THE KNOW
Street closures
Some lanes of north Arlington roads will be closed between about 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today as a tractor-trailer carrying a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial passes through town. Officials advise drivers to avoid the route:
From I-30, south on Cooper Street to
Road to Six Flags, west to
Davis Drive, south to Moore Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 1219 N. Davis Drive
SOURCE: City of Arlington
IN THE KNOW
If you go
What: Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall
Where: Moore Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 1219 N. Davis Drive, Arlington
Admission: Free.
When: Open 24 hours, Friday to Sunday
Highlights:
Friday: Posting of flags, 8 a.m.; candlelight service and fly-over by Strike Fighter Squadron, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: Opening ceremony, 10 a.m., including remarks by Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Ken Cordier
Sunday: Closing ceremony, 6 p.m.
Online: www.vietnamwallexperience.com
For volunteer information, call 817-275-2711
Heather Ann White, 817-548-5494 hwhite@star-telegram.com
Ellie
Vietnam memorial travels to Arlington for weekend
By HEATHER ANN WHITE
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
ARLINGTON -- Every time the replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial comes near the Arlington-Fort Worth area, A.L. McCluney volunteers to help any way he can.
This month, the Korean War veteran from Hurst helped spread the word that the replica will roll down the road today in an 18-wheeler painted with an American flag. Organizers said the truck will be flanked by about 100 motorcycles when it leaves Texas Motor Speedway at 9 a.m. en route to Moore Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens in Arlington.
"I haven't decided where I'll be yet," McCluney, 75, said Monday. "But Tifany, my dog, and I will be watching.
"Those guys laid it on the line when the chips were down. Those guys in the military ... they're my heroes," said McCluney, who'll be wearing his VMF 112 fighter squadron cap.
That's why it was important to him to encourage government officials, Marines, churches, organizations and businesses to line Texas 10 as the truck passes some time between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. today, he said.
"Hopefully, this will be the homecoming parade the veterans never received," said Jamie Jewell, community outreach coordinator for Dignity Memorial Funeral Providers, which is helping sponsor the wall's visit to Arlington.
The public can view the replica, the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall, for free Friday through Sunday at the funeral home. The faux-granite wall is 240 feet long and 8 feet tall and includes the names of more than 58,000 veterans who died.
The wall was created in 1990 by Dignity Memorial to honor the veterans and give closure to their friends and family, said Gary Westerman, location manager of Moore Funeral Home.
McCluney is one of the volunteers who will help people find the names of loved ones on the wall.
He said he began volunteering six or seven years ago when he heard the replica was coming to town.
McCluney, who serves on the Tarrant County Veterans Council and is a member of a Tarrant County group that helps Marines, said he had uncles and cousins in the Vietnam War who survived. He said he has seen the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., five or six times. Paying tribute to veterans -- no matter what war -- is important, McCluney said.
"I'm just not going to forget," he said. "People in school now, they don't teach history. They don't teach history like it should be."
McCluney said that when he volunteers, he hears touching stories about people whose names appear on the wall.
"A lot of people will leave notes and flowers," he said. "It's very moving. It will certainly put tears in your eyes if you haven't seen it."
Once, he saw a woman bring her son to the wall and point to a name.
"She said, 'Now, son, that was your dad,'" he said.
The boy had never seen the name before visiting the traveling memorial, McCluney said.
Even though he doesn't know any of the people whose names are on the wall, McCluney said he is grateful for the people who laid their lives on the line. He said the wall is a great honor.
"Those guys won't be there in person, but they'll be there in spirit," he said. "If you close your eyes for a minute, you'll see the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and the nurses who were there."
Jewell, the community outreach coordinator for Dignity Memorial Funeral Providers, said the memorial helps people who don't get the chance to see loved ones' names engraved on the real wall.
"This might be their only chance to pay tribute to the veterans in the war," she said.
The replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has traveled to several Texas cities over the years. It was last in Arlington in 1991.
Its last stop was Wichita Falls. It will be on display in Mission on June 30 and Houston on July 7, before traveling to Portland, Maine, in August.
Westerman, of the Moore Funeral Home, said the wall travels to about 18 to 20 cities across the nation every year. The wall has been displayed in more than 200 cities since 1990.
Weekend events include a candlelight service and an F-18 jet fly-over by the Strike Fighter Squadron beginning at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
Jewell said it's important, especially for children, to visit the wall.
"History is more than pages in a book," she said. "Every person on that wall died. That's a lot of names."
IN THE KNOW
Street closures
Some lanes of north Arlington roads will be closed between about 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today as a tractor-trailer carrying a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial passes through town. Officials advise drivers to avoid the route:
From I-30, south on Cooper Street to
Road to Six Flags, west to
Davis Drive, south to Moore Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 1219 N. Davis Drive
SOURCE: City of Arlington
IN THE KNOW
If you go
What: Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall
Where: Moore Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 1219 N. Davis Drive, Arlington
Admission: Free.
When: Open 24 hours, Friday to Sunday
Highlights:
Friday: Posting of flags, 8 a.m.; candlelight service and fly-over by Strike Fighter Squadron, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: Opening ceremony, 10 a.m., including remarks by Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Ken Cordier
Sunday: Closing ceremony, 6 p.m.
Online: www.vietnamwallexperience.com
For volunteer information, call 817-275-2711
Heather Ann White, 817-548-5494 hwhite@star-telegram.com
Ellie