Veterans Memorial replica visits Nevada

Monument is on 24-stop tour of United States

CENT View--Dennis Hangey plays the bagpipes in front of the travelling Vietnam Veteran's Wall in Mesquite, Friday, Feb. 10, 2005.--View Photo Christine H. Wetzel CENT View--A patch displayed at the travelling Vietnam Veteran's Wall in Mesquite, Friday, Feb. 10, 2005.--View Photo Christine H. Wetzel CENT/ALL View--Eldene Cervantes, left and Donnitta Woughter cry at the the travelling Vietnam Veteran's Wall in Mesquite, Friday, Feb. 10, 2005.--View Photo Christine H. Wetzel

Gary Gomes was face-to-face with his military past upon viewing a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial meant to provide a sense of what the real one looks like in Washington, D.C.

"It's been 33 years of waiting," the tearful Army veteran and Mesquite resident said before placing his Army Commendation Medal atop the wall as a tribute. "Everybody on this wall is a buddy. I've cried more than I ever cried. I'm scared to death to be here. It's the first time I've ever dealt with it."

The memorial, which was being displayed in Mesquite, also moved Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who said the replica, called The Wall That Heals, was "as close to a religious experience as you can get."

"I was so happy to be asked by (Mesquite) Mayor Bill Nicholes to be here," Goodman said during his Feb. 10 visit. "It makes us a stronger country to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice."

Goodman held his weekly news briefing at the Mesquite Recreation Center as part of the opening ceremony for a 250-foot traveling replica of the original Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The monument, engraved with 58,000 names of men and women who lost their lives in Vietnam, was in Mesquite for three days at the opening of this year's 24-stop tour of cities across the United States.

For many Southern Nevada veterans, including Gomes, it was the first opportunity to view the memorial. For others, it was one of many visits to the wall, but no less emotional.

A Las Vegas Vietnam veteran who would only identify himself as Paladin said he has visited the memorial in Washington 19 times. A member of the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club, he made the 80-mile trip from Las Vegas on his Harley Davidson.

"I've got nine buddies listed on that wall," he said. "We must never forget. Vets from other wars were welcomed home. We weren't. It's a slow healing process, and it's way overdue."

Paladin said he always has mixed emotions while visiting the memorial.

"I hate this thing with a bloody passion because of why it was built," he said.

Goodman said the way many Vietnam veterans were treated upon their return from the conflict was "a disgrace."

"We rejected those who fought for us," Goodman said. "I just spoke to a woman who lost her son in Vietnam. She said the thing that hurts the most is when people tell her he shouldn't have been there."

Several hundred people attended the opening ceremony for the traveling memorial, listening with bowed heads as the names of Southern Nevadans who died in Vietnam were read and bagpipers played "Amazing Grace."

The wall itself is a long, slow arch like the frozen crest of a wave. It is transported by a 53-foot trailer, which becomes a museum that tells the story of the war. The museum's six exhibit cases house photos and vignettes to help visitors understand the war and its era.

St. George, Utah, resident Trish Waggoner came to the memorial to pay tribute to a long-lost boyfriend who died serving in Vietnam.

"This is as close as (the memorial) has been to me," she said. "It's a lot of sons and fathers listed on that wall. I don't want anybody to forget. The memorial gives me the satisfaction that people still remember all those that gave their lives."

Nicholes said he expected about 1,000 people a day to visit.

"The Wall has been in nearly 200 towns in America and we feel very honored to be the only site in the western U.S. in 2005 to host a visit," the Mesquite mayor said. "It's humbling, really. It moves you to tears to stand in front of it and see the names."

The original Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 1982. The half-scale replica was built in 1996 to allow people to visit in the comfort of their own communities. Nearly 2 million people have visited the touring exhibit in 250 cities and towns throughout the United States.