The Wall That Heals travels through Conneaut
May 26—CONNEAUT — More than 500 vehicles gathered at Gateway Plaza on Wednesday to escort a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to Erie, where it will be on display this weekend.
Vic Muschler, site manager for the Wall That Heals, said the display is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the founders of the wall in Washington D.C.
"While we can't change the past, we want this to not only bring attention to the fact that the memorial is going to be set up in your community until Monday at 2 p.m.," Muschler said. "This is a small way of honoring those individuals that never received their welcome home as Vietnam veterans. That's why this is so important."
The vehicles escorted the 53-foot ducation center trailer.
"That education center contains a small portion of those 400,000 items that have been left at the wall in D.C.," Muschler said.
The memorial will be assembled today, and once it is assembled, it will be open 24 hours a day until Monday at 2 p.m., he said.
After the convoy reached Erie, Muschler said 530 escort vehicles participated in the event.
Conneaut Police Chief Michael Colby said before the convoy departed Gateway Plaza that he would be leading them through Conneaut.
"You can't beat the cause," Colby said.
Dan Mundaniohl, one of the motorcyclists escorting the wall, said he got to the plaza at about 11 a.m.
"We're riding up front, so we got here early," he said. "I'm here to honor our fallen soldiers, 58,479."
In a speech to the assembled crowd, Muschler said it was the first time he had needed a microphone to address a crowd.
Ride Captain Rick Carr, who organized the motorcyclists that escorted the wall to Erie, asked Vietnam veterans in the crowd to raise their hands, and asked the rest of the assembled crowd to shake the hands of those veterans and welcome them home.
Carr said 250 cities applied to have the Wall That Heals visit them this year.
"Only 34 get it," Carr said. "Only one gets it Memorial Weekend, that's us."
When he was asked to organize the escort, Carr was asked if he could organize more than 150 bikes at the event.
"I've been getting calls for months now, from Ashtabula, from the Pittsburgh area, from the Buffalo area, the Cleveland area, and I said if the weather cooperates, we can do this," Carr said. "And you guys showed up. Thank you so much."
Law enforcement led the way out of the Gateway Plaza parking lot and out onto Route 7.
It took nearly 10 minutes from the time the lead vehicle left the parking lot until the last vehicle departed.
Carr said Girard, Pennsylvania's color guard would be along their route to Erie, and 100 flags had been placed along the route.
"They've gone all-out," Carr said.
The wall is scheduled to open on Friday, May 27 at 12:01 a.m., at Zem Zem Shrine Club at 2525 West 38th Street in Erie, according to a press release from the Wall That Heals.
A "Welcome Home" ceremony for Vietnam veterans will take place at noon on Friday.
Carr thanked the city of Conneaut, the Conneaut American Legion post and the owner of Gateway Plaza.
"The cooperation I'm getting on this is just overwhelming," he said.
