The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be in Andalusia this weekend.
The Covington Veterans Foundation is hosting the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in partnership with the City of Andalusia, and with the support of numerous local sponsors. Work on this project has been under way for months.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is a three-fifthssized replicaof the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, known simply as The Wall, located inConstitution Park in Washington,D.C.
The Vietnam Wallis 493 feet, 6 inches with a height of10feet, and its black granite panels are engraved with the names of 58,320 fallen men and women.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will arrive on Wednesday, July 27, and will be escorted into town at 10:30 a.m. by state and local law enforcement officials, as well as a number of veterans. The arrival will be staged from the Covington County Track and Field Facility on Hwy. 55 South. That afternoon, The Wall will be erected near the Covington Veterans Memorial, which is behind Andalusia City Hall.
On Thursday, the Friends of Army Aviation will have an UH-1H “Huey” helicopter on display between Andalusia City Hall and Springdale from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The group will offer rides from Packer Field from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
At 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, an opening ceremony is planned at the Covington Veterans Memorial. That evening, a special edition of the Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce’s July Jamz is planned on the lawn of Springdale. The Three Notch Ramblers will open the evening at 6 p.m. with songs from the Vietnam Era followed by Lee Greenwood, whose appearance is sponsored by CCB Community Bank. Fireworks will close the evening.
There will be some shuttle assistance for parking in the downtown area for the opening ceremony and concert. East Three Notch Street will be closed in front of City Hall from 5:30 p.m. until the fireworks are over. For details, check cityofandalusia.com or the Facebook pages of City of Andalusia, Covington Veterans Foundation, or Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will remain open until closing ceremonies at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 31.
Other special events include a Missing Man Ceremony inside the auditorium of City Hall at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 607 in Montgomery will lead the ceremony. Opp native Jessie Donaldson is president of that group.
At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, the Covington Veterans Foundation will host Command Sgt.
Maj. (Ret.) Jimmie W. Spencer, who will give a presentation about the war. That also will be in the City Hall Auditorium.
The Covington Veterans Foundation also developed a magazine featuring the stories of the 19 men whose hometowns were in Covington County at the time of their enlistment, as well as the stories of two others who had spent most of their young lives here. The magazines will be available at the locator tent.
Round-the-clock security is being provided by the Andalusia Police Department, with assistance from neighboring departments. The Foundation and the City are required to provide volunteers in the locator tent 24/7.
There is no charge for any of the events. For additional information, call Michele Gerlach at (334) 488-5317 or (334) 428-1143.
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