Procession will wind through three towns
The Wall That Heals is coming to Wake Forest in style, winding through Youngsville, Rolesville and Wake Forest, on Tuesday, Oct. 16, before reaching its location in E. Carroll Joyner Park on Harris Road in Wake Forest. There it will open to the public at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, and remain open 24 hours a day through 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21.
This well-deserved welcome home escort for Vietnam veterans will take place beginning about 11 a.m. Tuesday. All the members of The Wall That Heals Planning Committee are inviting residents in Youngsville, Rolesville and Wake Forest and beyond to step outside, wave flags and watch as the processional winds its way to Joyner Park. In addition, area motorcyclists are invited to join the escort at the briefing 1 hour before the procession.
In Youngsville, Rolesville and Wake Forest, the fire departments will display their huge flags. Firemen and policemen will block traffic on intersecting roads as the procession passes, stopping traffic for about 8 to 10 minutes.
The route goes by about a dozen churches if you need parking, and several area schools, which are studying the Vietnam War now in history class. The truck carrying the huge exhibit and its education center with the procession of motorcycles will follow this route:
* At 11 a.m., depart the Food Lion Shopping Center, 1160 U.S. 1, Youngsville, located at the intersection of U.S. 1 and NC Hwy 96;
* Turn right onto NC Hwy 96 and go 1.7 miles;
* Turn left onto NC Hwy 96/Main Street (downtown Youngsville) and go 0.3 mile;
* Turn right onto NC Hwy 96 and go 6.2 miles (through the traffic circle at the intersection of NC Hwy 96 and NC Hwy 98) to US Hwy 401;
* Turn right onto US Hwy 401 and go 2.8 miles to the second Rolesville Exit (East Young Street);
* Turn right onto East Young Street and go 0.8 mile to South Main Street;
* Turn left onto South Main Street (downtown Rolesville) and go 0.5 mile (past Rolesville Elementary School.) to Rogers Road;
* Turn right onto Rogers Road and go 4.6 miles (past Heritage Elementary and Heritage Middle schools) to South Main Street;
* Turn right onto South Main Street and go 1.7 miles (past Wake Forest Middle School, and Wake Forest Elementary School,) to the South Main Street/South Avenue roundabout;
* Bear to the right in the roundabout onto South Avenue and go 1.6 miles (past Wake Forest High School) to US 1/Capital Boulevard. Please note: South Avenue will transition to Front Street, North Street and Stadium Drive.
* Turn right onto US 1 North/Capital Boulevard and go 1.1 miles to Harris Road.
* Turn right onto Harris Road and go 0.6 mile to E. Carroll Joyner Park;
* Turn right into Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road.
The total distance is 22 miles, and the total travel time is approximately 55-65 minutes.
The Wall That Heals will be assembled Wednesday and open to the public Thursday. It is free to all.
There will be computer information available with all the names on The Wall and where they are located, paper and pencils available for rubbings, videos and maps of Vietnam, and items displayed that have been left at The Wall in Washington, DC. The names on cards of all the North Carolina men and women who died during the war will be given to students and to anyone who wants them.
During the opening ceremony on Thursday at 4 p.m., the families of three area fallen will lay wreaths. A flyover of antique planes will occur at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, (or if weather does not permit, during the closing ceremony Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m.). Saturday at noon will begin the Reading of the Names of the Wall when the 38 NC veterans unaccounted for will be recognized- there once were over 100.
There will be benches at a distance from The Wall That Heals where veterans who cannot face the names can sit and remember.
The Wall That Heals honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed forces in the Vietnam War and bears the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.
Wake Forest has the honor of being the only town in North Carolina scheduled to host the exhibit in 2018. As such, Wake Forest will be among the first to host a new, larger exhibit, which includes a three-quarter scale Wall replica that is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. With the new replica at this size, visitors will be able to experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of The Wall in Washington, D.C.
For more information about The Wall That Heals in Wake Forest, including a complete schedule of events, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/the-wall-that-heals.aspx<http://www.wakeforestnc.gov/the-wall-that-heals.aspx> and “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/twthwakeforestnc/<http://www.facebook.com/twthwakeforestnc/>.
