Wall That Heals Opens on July 4: What You Need to Know

LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL — The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., will open on July 4 at Randall Oaks Park in West Dundee. The memorial, which includes the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing after serving in the Vietnam War are inscribed in the black granite wall. The stop at Randall Oaks Park, 750 Randall Road, is the wall's only stop this year in the Chicago area.

The wall is 375 feet in length, stands 7.5 feet high and is designed to travel throughout the United States so that communities can have the chance to honor and pay tribute to Vietnam veterans and their families, according to a news release. The wall's mobile education center will come along with the memorial. The 53-foot trailer that carries The Wall That Heals across the country transforms to become the education center, which features a timeline of “The War and The Wall” and provides additional information about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on its exterior.

Additional exhibits give visitors a better understanding of the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the collection of items left at The Wall, according to the Vietnam Veteran Memorial Fund website.

Displays include:

• Hometown Heroes – Photos of service members on The Wall who list their home of record from the local area. The photos are part of the effort to put a face to every name on The Wall and for the Wall of Faces.
• Map of Vietnam
• In Memory Honor Roll – Photos of local Vietnam veterans honored through VVMF’s In Memory program which honors veterans who returned home and later died of Vietnam-related illnesses.
• A display of items representative of those left at The Wall in Washington, D.C. in remembrance of those on The Wall.
• Digital kiosk allows visitors to search for names using VVMF’s Wall of Faces.
• Two paper directories allow for names to be found alphabetically.
• The Gold Star Bike – Donated to VVMF by the American Gold Star Mothers in 2012, the bike is a Softail Custom Harley that pays tribute to the mothers who lost sons to the Vietnam War.

An opening ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on July 4 at Randall Oaks Park and the site will be open open 24 hours per day and is free. The Wall will remain open through 3 p.m. on July 7. A closing ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. on that day.

The stop in West Dundee is the only planned stop in the Chicago area for the Wall That Heals this year. Prior to coming to West Dundee, the Wall That Heals was in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and after its stint at Randall Oaks, will be headed out of state to Greenfield, Indiana.

American Legion Post #679 is the hosting organization for the Wall That Heals trip to Randall Oaks.

More via the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.