The ultimate sacrifice: Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall comes to Aurora

Diane Smith, Record-Courier
Updated ·4 min read

Veterans and their loved ones came from around the region to honor the memory of fallen service members as the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall made an appearance in Aurora.

The wall, which last visited Aurora 23 years ago, came to Hartman Park, 305 Townline Road, Aurora. The display will be open for 75 continuous hours, and will close at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The wall last visited Aurora 23 years ago, said Tony Dockus, a Vietnam veteran and member of the Aurora Veterans of Foreign Wars. It came to Aurora from a stop in Roscoe, Pennsylvania, and will travel to McHenry, Illinois, when the display in Aurora ends.

The Aurora park will host daily ceremonies with military honors at 1 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The memorial will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and volunteers will help people find their loved ones on the wall and do a "rubbing" of their names. The wall also will be lit and guarded around-the-clock, so those who prefer to avoid crowds can pay their respects privately.

The traveling wall is a three-fifths scale of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It stands 6 feet tall at the center and covers almost 300 feet from end to end. It contains all the names that are on the memorial in the nation's capital.

Jeff Myers reads the names on panels dedicated to more recent casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan on the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, which is on display through Sunday in Aurora.
Jeff Myers reads the names on panels dedicated to more recent casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan on the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, which is on display through Sunday in Aurora.

Opening ceremony

On Thursday, opening ceremonies marked the arrival of the wall.

Wreaths were placed in honor of all branches of the military by area mayors and veterans, including Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin, who laid the Navy wreath; Hiram Mayor Lou Bertrand, who laid the Merchant Marine wreath; Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broksa, who laid the POW and MIA wreath; Mantua Mayor Linda Clark, who laid the Coast Guard wreath; Portage County Commissioner Mike Tinlin, who laid the Army wreath; and Commissioners Tony Badalamenti and Sabrina Christian-Bennett, who laid the Marine wreath. State Rep. Gail Pavliga and Aurora City Councilman George Horvat laid the Purple Heart wreath.

Emma Robb and Reagan Kacmar recited a collection of military poems, including "Your Name Upon the Cold Black Wall."

A panel of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall at Hartman Park in Aurora.
A panel of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall at Hartman Park in Aurora.

Womer Benjamin thanked veterans for their service and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Aurora for bringing the wall to Aurora.

"Thank you for your efforts so that we may all pay tribute, and remember those who lost their lives in that long and challenging conflict that took its toll on our service men and women, and on our country for almost 20 years," she said. "It certainly made its mark on my life."

Dockus reminded those visiting the wall to stay on the path laid next to it, because the property is considered "hollow ground."

"By your attendance, you're not only saying thank you, but you're also honoring the 58,000 names on that wall," he said.

Paying tribute

After the ceremony, people walked along the path next to the wall to find the names of their loved ones, or people with whom they had served.

George Gusti of Akron found the name of Leonard Alvarado, with whom he served. Gusti said he spoke with Alvarado one day in August 1969, and Alvarado said he would be going out to fight in the field. His platoon was overwhelmed, and Alvarado died in that battle, leaving behind a daughter he never got the chance to meet.

Alvarado posthumously received a Medal of Honor in 2014 for his bravery during that battle, where he fought against advancing enemy gunfire despite the injuries that claimed his life.

"It means a lot to me," he said. "He was a hero."

George Jasko of Cleveland said he was looking for Joseph Lauer, who died in May, 1968. Jasko and Lauer went through boot camp together at the beginning of that year.

McDaniel siblings Colleen, 6, Dylan, 10, Eli 10, and Nora, 12, look for Wilbur Wise's name on the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. When their mother, Lisa, went on a trip to the memorial in Washington, D.C., as a child, she randomly picked a name to rub. That soldier was Wilbur Wise, who happened to be from Stow. Lisa McDaniels brought her children to the traveling memorial in Aurora this week, and they all found Wilbur Wise's name again.

"He got out of boot camp in January and he was gone by the middle of the year," Jasko said.

Veterans Information Fair

A Veterans Information Fair will take place inside a tent at the park from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Details: Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be in Aurora from Thursday to Sunday

Volunteers will provide information on the PACT Act, a new law that expands care for veterans exposed to toxic substances; on medical and mental health benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and on services provided by the Portage County Veterans Service Center, a Mobile Veterans Service Center, Project Healing Waters and others.

Participants in the effort will include the Aurora Historical Society, Portage County Veterans Service Commission, the Mobile Veterans Center, VA Northeast Oho Healthcare System from Wade Park, a PACT Act state advocate, Project Healing Waters, the Department of Veteran Affairs Benefits, Fieldstone Farms and "Baskets with Love."

Honoring those who served: Vietnam memorial brings missing comrades to Northfield Center

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Aurora open until Sunday