Latest news with #VietnamVeteransMemorialFund
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Wall that Heals', replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial, on display in Shaler Township
A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is now on display in Shaler Township. You can see the 'Wall That Heals' at Anderson Field at Shaler Area High School over Memorial Day weekend, along with a mobile education center. 'The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is pleased to bring The Wall That Heals mobile exhibit to Shaler Township to allow local veterans and their family members a chance to experience The Wall,' said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. 'Hosting The Wall That Heals provides an opportunity to honor and remember all those who served and sacrificed in the Vietnam War and educate visitors on the continuing impact of the Vietnam War on America.' The wall is transported in a 53-foot trailer. When it arrives, the trailer opens with the exhibit built onto its sides. It is 375 feet in length and 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. It will be open 24 hours a day through May 26 at 2 p.m. Admission is free. The last time the wall was in Pittsburgh was in 2019. For more information, click here. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Traveling Vietnam veteran memorial leaves mark in the Upstate
PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A traveling memorial honoring Vietnam veterans was on display at The Deerwood Farms in Liberty from May 15th-May18th. 'The Wall That Heals' was open 24 hours a day for everyone to visit, reflect and remember Vietnam war heroes. It left a lasting impact on Debbie Hayes who told 7NEWS a childhood friend of hers passed away in the Vietnam war. Hayes said she was able to find her friend's name on the wall. She said he was 20 years old when he was killed. 'When you know somebody and you see the name is just heart wrenching, it really is,' said Hayes. The memorial was chock-full of the names of more than 58,000 men and women who served and gave their lives in the Vietnam War, as well as those who are still missing. The memorial is a replica of the 'Vietnam Veterans Memorial' in Washington DC, which sees around 5.6 million visitors every year, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Organizers told 7NEWS the wall had been displayed in nearly 800 communities across the nation and is funded through donations. 'My husband was in the draft and almost had to go himself when he was 18. So, when you realize the men on this wall are 18, 19,20,21.. for him not to come home, it's not something you'd ever expect,' Hayes added. Representatives with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund said they chose to bring the wall to Pickens County because of the strong representation of veterans in the area. Volunteers were on site to help visitors find specific names on the wall if they requested. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Wall that Heals' coming to Shaler Township ahead of Memorial Day
A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., will make an appearance in Shaler Township this year. The 'Wall That Heals' will be at the Shaler Area High School over Memorial Day weekend along with a mobile education center. 'The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is pleased to bring The Wall That Heals mobile exhibit to Shaler Township to allow local veterans and their family members a chance to experience The Wall,' said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. 'Hosting The Wall That Heals provides an opportunity to honor and remember all those who served and sacrificed in the Vietnam War and educate visitors on the continuing impact of the Vietnam War on America.' It will arrive on May 21 and the public will be able to view it the next day. The wall is transported in a 53-foot trailer. When it arrives, the trailer opens with the exhibit built onto its sides. It is 375 feet in length and 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. The last time the wall was in Pittsburgh was in 2019. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Murrysville church will host 'Orange Heart' ceremony for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange
Mar. 23—Jerry Deible of Murrysville can remember standing on the ground at a Vietnam firebase in the early 1970s, staring up at a massive C-130 airplane passing overhead. He craned his head back and snapped a photo of the plane as liquid streamed down from tanks strapped to its sides. The C-130 was spraying Agent Orange, an herbicidal defoliant that got its name from the orange band wrapped around the drums it came in. While there were other chemicals used to thin the triple-canopy Vietnamese jungles, Agent Orange accounted for 12 million of the 20 million gallons dropped over an area roughly the size of Massachusetts, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. After more than 15 years of denying that the dioxin in Agent Orange was linked to cancers, birth defects and other medical issues with Vietnam veterans, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was empowered in 1991 to declare a range of 19 diseases as probable effects of Agent Orange exposure, including several cancers. But its poisonous legacy has gone largely unacknowledged by the federal government. "We were told it was perfectly safe," said Deible, 76. "There were guys who'd go around the border of the firebase with jungle pants, boots and no shirts on with a pump tank of Agent Orange strapped to their backs, spraying it all over." Deible has joined with Murrysville Alliance Church Pastor Dan Lawrence to host an April 12 ceremony presenting Vietnam veterans with recognition from the nonprofit Orange Heart Medal Foundation. The foundation was created by Vietnam veteran Ken Gamble, who was diagnosed with cancer as a result of Agent Orange exposure. "This is recognition not by the federal government, but by one of their veteran brothers," Lawrence said. "Jerry came to me and said he felt like we needed to do something to recognize our vets dealing with this. We can't forget." The foundation's name comes from the medal presented to participating veterans, which is an orange heart with the letters "A" an "O" on either side of an outline of Vietnam. "When the Purple Heart was commissioned, it was the only award permitted to be in the shape of a heart," Deible said. "But when Ken Gamble started the foundation, he got permission from the government to make it in the same shape." The foundation was created in Tennessee, where the state legislature was the first in the nation to pass a law recognizing veterans affected by Agent Orange, in 2019. Nine additional states have joined Tennessee in the years since. In early 2024, the Pennsylvania Legislature convened a task force with the goal of helping better communicate treatment options to exposed veterans. Vietnam veterans or their surviving spouses can fill out an application to take part in the April 12 ceremony and receive an Orange Heart. Applications are available at Deible and Lawrence said poor treatment of Vietnam veterans returning to the U.S. after the war was compounded years later by a lack of recognition that millions of them had been exposed to a toxic herbicide. "The thinking today goes, if you were boots-on-the-ground in Vietnam, you were exposed to Agent Orange in some way," Deible said. Said Lawrence: "When these guys talk to me about how they came home and all that transpired, it's heartbreaking. We're saying to the community: Let's come together, pay respect to our Vietnam vets, acknowledge that Agent Orange is a real thing and not walk away from it." Medals have been given to more than 11,000 veterans during the nonprofit's short history. The public is invited to attend the April 12 event, which will start with an 11:30 a.m. luncheon at the church, 4130 Old William Penn Highway in Murrysville, followed by the medal ceremony. Applications are due by March 30. For more information or to RSVP, call 724-327-7206 or email office@ For more on the foundation, see Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@
