PORT TOWNSEND — The Wall That Heals, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is coming to Port Townsend next summer.
The wall, which will be erected at the Jefferson County International Airport Sept. 11-14, is inscribed with the names of 58,000 Vietnam veterans who died in the war. It will be open 24 hours a day following the opening ceremony on Sept. 11, until 2 p.m. on Sept. 14. The opening ceremony time has yet to be determined.
“Being with other people who are sharing your grief because you have a common source of grief is very powerful and it is really healing because you can take a step forward because you’re not alone with your feelings,” Vietnam veteran Erik Poulsen said.
Poulsen, a Port Townsend resident, first saw the traveling monument in Arizona in 2023, and it opened a door for him through which he can unpack some of his experiences of the war.
“I was struck by how much it moved me to see the traveling wall and to see the people around, the other vets and families,” Poulsen said. “Then I realized that, of the six men from Port Townsend, Jefferson County, that are on the wall, I only knew three of them. That led me to doing the research on the other three men that I didn’t really know.”
Poulsen gave a speech last Memorial Day at the Port Townsend American Legion, remembering the lost Port Townsend veterans.
The speech listed Marvin Glen Shields, John Everett Paddock, Timothy James McMahon, Stephen Ray Lopeman, Monte Raoul de Vere and William Thomas Smith.
“The bonds that are forged in a war are really deep and they don’t go away,” Poulsen said. “I feel a duty to the people on the wall and the ones in Port Townsend and the two from my class, Steve Lopeman and Bill Smith especially. I just want to bring them home, even if it’s just for a visit.”
Poulsen said the traveling monument coming to Port Townsend is very important to him.
“Honestly, at the most base level, I want to bring Bill and Steve home,” he said.
Bringing the wall to Port Townsend was a collaborative effort with credit going largely to Poulsen and Iraq veteran Wyatt Ranson, commander of the Port Townsend American Legion and VFW Post 7498 in Port Hadlock.
Ranson, who grew up on the Peninsula, served in the Iraq War. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps for 12 years.
“Every Vietnam vet or veteran’s family is extremely excited about it,” Ranson said. “The majority of our members are Vietnam and post-Vietnam members, probably lesser so the modern Middle East conflict veterans. The majority of them are older than myself at least.”
Ranson said he informed the family of Marvin G. Shields, medal of honor recipient.
“They were ecstatic, and they’ll probably be making a statement at the opening ceremonies on Sept. 11,” he said.
Poor receptions, late acceptance
The Vietnam War brought a lot of scrutiny onto the soldiers involved, said Trish Voelker, who spoke on behalf of her husband Jon Voelker, a medic in the Vietnam war.
Trish said the perception that most people had was that the soldiers were more or less murderers.
“When he got back, the reception was pretty poor,” Trish said. “He actually had taken a taxi from Seatac to his family’s home in Greenlake, and I’m not sure if he was in uniform or not, but the taxi driver ended up talking to him and Jon had said that he had just come back from Vietnam and the taxi driver started to berate him.”
Jon was diagnosed with Hodgin lymphoma in 2009, thought to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange. Chemotherapy led to neuropathy in his hands and feet, preventing him from continuing his work as a contractor.
The Voelkers have previoulsy seen the traveling wall.
“It’s kind of finally a recognition of a job they did that a lot of them didn’t want to do,” Trish said. “My husband was drafted. Honoring the people that lost their lives, I think that is what’s kind of healing about.”
Trish said that, while understanding and acceptance has changed dramatically over the years, it will never make up for how bad the initial reception was. Still, she said, The Wall That Heals does bring healing.
The wall was built by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF). Dedicated on Veterans Day in 1996, the mobile memorial has been to nearly 700 communities, according to the VVMF website.
The 375-foot-long wall is shaped like a delta or boomerang, Ranson said, increasing in height from the sides to the center. The wall is a three-quarter-scale replica of the original in Washington, D.C.
The names are lit by LEDs and visible at night.
Traveling with the monument are educators, Ranson said. After the wall is removed from the truck, the 53-foot trailer is repurposed into a mobile education center. To learn more, visit the VVFM website at https://www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals.
The wall is set to arrive on Sept. 9, an event which Ranson hopes will see roadside welcoming parties and support from local fire stations and law enforcement.
The wall will have an escort traveling with it for about an hour before its arrival, likely consisting of veteran motorcycle groups and classic cars, Ranson said. Details are to be determined.
Volunteers will be solicited as the event draws near, Ranson said. The Port Townsend American Legion will put calls out to community groups.
Family members with names inscribed on the wall may volunteer to carry the tablet with the lost soldier’s name to the wall’s frame, Ranson said. They may accompany the tablet to the wall if they are unable to carry it. Veterans with friends’ names on the wall also may carry or accompany the tablet with their lost relation’s name.
The overall cost of hosting The Wall That Heals is $12,000, Ranson said.
If anyone wants to be a part of funding the monument, they can donate by check to the American Legion Hall Post 26, writing “The Wall That Heals” in the memo line. They can drop the check off or send it in by mail to 209 Monroe St., Port Townsend, WA, 98368.
The group plans to organize other options to donate as time permits, Ranson said.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
