Veterans honored with Fultondale wall display, events this weekend

Published On: 07.09.16 |

By: Brittany Dunn

Veterans honored with Fultondale wall display, events this weekend

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The American Veterans Traveling Tribute will be on display in Fultondale until 2 p.m. Sunday, July 10. (Brittany Faush-Johnson/Alabama NewsCenter)

Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery has watched with pride the past two days as thousands of visitors have made their way to the Fultondale Promenade to visit the temporary memorial there.

Vietnam Memorial Wall replica in Fultondale from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

The American Veteran Traveling Tribute is an 80 percent replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. that travels the country, bringing honor and connections to veterans and their family and friends. It traveled with a special escort from Birmingham to Fultondale Wednesday.

Lowery, himself a Vietnam veteran, said having the memorial in Fultondale has provided an opportunity for those who lost loved ones in Vietnam to experience the wall in case they can’t make it to the nation’s capital to see the real thing.

Lowery said the wall is also educational to a younger generation who hasn’t grown up hearing about Vietnam.

The American Veterans Traveling Tribute will be on display in Fultondale until 2 p.m. Sunday, July 10. (Brittany Faush-Johnson/Alabama NewsCenter)

But most of all it’s a way of honoring all veterans, especially those from Vietnam, many of whom did not receive a hero’s welcome when they returned from war.

“To me, as a veteran, what it does it gives us an opportunity to honor those who gave their lives there,” Lowery said. “To me, it’s very meaningful.”

The wall will be in Fultondale today through Sunday. A flag dedication at 10 a.m. is among several events today, including a 9 p.m. fireworks display. A closing ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday.