County Exec urges Schools and Families to Visit the Traveling Vietnam Wall this weekend

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell joins Veterans Service Agency Director Karl Rohde in urging schools and families to take advantage of an event that will give local meaning to national history and bring students to see the Traveling Vietnam Wall when it visits Carmel this weekend.

The Traveling Vietnam Wall will be on display at the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park from noon on September 22^nd until 3:00 PM and on September 25^th, will be open for visits 24 hours a day. There will be an opening ceremony tonight, September 22, at 7pm in the park

“This is a great educational opportunity,” County Executive Odell said. “Not only can students see a version of the Vietnam Wall without having to go to D.C., but they will have the chance to meet with local veterans from Putnam County who may have served in the war. It’s a good example to show the students how national history is also local history.”

The Traveling Wall is an 80 percent scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. This visit will include The American Traveling Tribute, a display that features every war America has been involved in from the Revolutionary War right up to today, and a half-size replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This event is a collaboration between the Putnam County Veterans Service Agency and the Putnam County Joint Veterans Council (PCJVC). The PCJVC is a local non-profit Veterans Service Organization.

“We believe that this is an excellent educational and community service opportunity,” Rohde wrote in a letter to school officials throughout the region. “We know it’s early in the school year, but It is our hope that you can present the students at your school with this gift.”

Buses will be available to transport visitors round trip from Putnam Plaza and the Putnam County Office Building to the park to see the wall.   The buses will run from the Tops Store at Putnam Plaza every hour on the hour from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 22-24. They will stop at the county office building 10 minutes after the hour.  Please see the below Traveling Wall Public Transportation schedule for details.

The closing ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Sunday, September 25, which is Gold Star Mother’s Day, and will feature a concert by The Hudson Valley Council Band.