Mobile Vietnam Wall Replica to visit Columbia
Contributed by Columbia Metropolitan Convention and
Visitors Bureau

Columbia will be the next stop on a cross-country tour for the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall Experience, a traveling, three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Wall will be in Columbia Friday, October 27 through Sunday, October 29 at Greenlawn Memorial Park, 845 Leesburg Road. It will be open 24-hours a day, and admission is free.

Dignity Memorial funeral, cremation and cemetery providers created this memorial as a service to those who may never visit Washington to see "The Wall" firsthand. The exhibit, which travels the country each year, allows millions of visitors to see and touch the black, mirror-like surface inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam. Honoring all U.S. veterans and dedicated to Vietnam veterans, the faux-granite replica is 240 feet long and eight feet high.

Planners of the three-day event anticipate that around 80,000 people will pass through to visit the wall or take part in a portion of the events over the course the weekend.

Dignity Memorial providers created the traveling memorial in 1990. Since its inception the exhibit has made stops in more than 200 cities from Buffalo, New York to Oceanside, California. Every exhibition is a community-sponsored event and involves the support and assistance of local veterans groups and civic organizations.

"I never dreamed when this began eight months ago that I would have this much fun, excitement, and learn so much about Columbia and its people," said local event organizer Roger Wheeler, the event's chairman of programs and ceremonies. "South Carolinians, both home-grown and imported, have just amazed me by their willingness to get involved and honor our veterans, and their families. The support given The Dignity Memorial Traveling Vietnam Wall has just plain blown me away. From Mayor Bob Coble, to the Boy Scouts and JROTC, everyone has just been fabulous, and I am so honored to just be a small part of this great happening in our city."

The exhibit is not a commercial venture. Dignity Memorial network providers have been extremely sensitive to this issue. They provide the replica to communities at no cost. Sponsorships have offset a portion of the expenses incurred in bringing the Wall to communities.

More than 275 overnight stays are expected to be generated by the traveling exhibit, as the event draws people from around the region. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau has worked with event organizers to secure hotel rooms for event managers and attendees. The estimated value of this event stopping in the Columbia area is expected to exceed $72,000.

The mission of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau is to strengthen the area's economy by marketing and selling the region, its accommodations, restaurants, facilities and attractions as a destination for meetings, conventions, tradeshows, special events and leisure travel and by working cooperatively with the hospitality community providing informative materials and assistive services that enhance and promote the desired image of the Columbia Riverbanks Region.