Preparations under way for Moving Wall visit

When the Moving Wall, a half-size portable replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., comes to Pahrump Oct. 26, it will arrive in grand style.

Nye County Sheriff's Deputy Sharon Wehrly said last Friday deputies would escort the exhibit as it travels south on U.S. Highway 95 from Tonopah. On Monday, U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Bill Byrns, who is coordinating the opening ceremonies, was informed that about 70 members of a group of Vietnam veteran motorcyclists will also be accompanying the Moving Wall.

The Moving Wall will be tethered to the parking lot at the Saddle West Hotel and Casino Oct. 26-Nov. 2 in its only appearance in Southern Nevada. Official opening ceremonies are scheduled for Oct. 27. Plans are slowly taking shape during regular meetings of the committee at Round Table Pizza.

Committee member Mike Cosgrove said Reserve Officer Training Corps units from Henderson will make a presentation. There will be three wreaths laid at the wall donated by Pahrump Valley Floral.

"What I'm trying to do is bring some kids to respect the wall," Cosgrove said.

Jo Anne Abbamonto, who is staying busy these days laying all the groundwork for the wall, which is sponsored by the Pahrump Valley Lions Club, said she needs definite confirmation from groups participating in the Moving Wall by mid-September.

When a representative of the Veterans of Foreign Wars asked what the veterans can do, Abbamonto said volunteers will be needed to stand at the entrance, answer questions, lead visitors to computers where they can look up their relatives' names, help people in rubbing the names onto a cloth and clean the memorial every night.

"Monday is designated as veterans day, so there is going to be a very specific day dedicated to the veterans," she said.

Abbamonto said some people bring letters to the wall or part of their deceased relatives' uniforms.

"If any of you veterans have pictures you had taken in Vietnam, I'd like to make a display, a montage, of veterans in Vietnam," she said. The photographs should include locations they were taken. It will include a small explanation of the country of Vietnam.

The donations continue to come in, Abbamonto said, the latest $1,000 from Floyd's Ace Home Center.

"We've collected about $12,000. I spent not quite $3(000) and that's for the T-shirts. Most everything's been donated," Abbamonto said. The T-shirts are available at the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce for $15.

The Moving Wall will have a float in the Pahrump Harvest Festival. Volunteers are also needed to man the Moving Wall booth at the harvest festival, she said.

"The float is going to be a replica of the wall," Abbamonto said.

Committee member Bob Watson said the Vietnam Veterans Association would like to start a local chapter in Pahrump. He said the group would like to pass out literature.

Abbamonto said a Prisoner of War/Missing In Action ceremony can be arranged, but committee members will have to pay the transportation. Likewise Point Man Ministries, a group that specializes in counseling Vietnam veterans one-on-one, with chapters in Lancaster, Calif., and San Diego, can make the trip but members need housing.

Watson said committee members would like to establish a permanent Vietnam War memorial in Pahrump, with fund-raising to be handled by a foundation.

The Moving Wall will be arriving from Washington state, via Burns, Ore., and Reno, Wehrly said.

There were 151 Nevadans killed in Vietnam, including Clyde E. "Johnny" Newman Jr., of Pahrump. The local VFW post 10054 is named after him. He was born in Tonopah and was the son of Clyde and Ida Newman.

The next meeting of the Moving Wall committee is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Round Table Pizza. There will also be a luncheon meeting next month.


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