Chisholm will finally host the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF)’s The Wall That Heals national tour after being delayed two years due to the pandemic.
United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN)’s United for Veterans committee had successfully applied to make Chisholm a stop on the tour, which brings the largest Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall replica in the country and a mobile education center to communities across the nation each year, in 2019. The tour was meant to stop in Chisholm in June of 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wall That Heals will be in 29 communities in 2022 – its 27th year – and will be in Chisholm June 23-26.
“We are even more excited now than we were two years ago,” said UWNEMN Executive Director Erin Shay. “It is such an honor to bring this exhibit to Iron Range veterans and their families, and this delay in scheduling has given our United for Veterans committee even more time to fine tune plans to make The Wall’s stay in Chisholm as meaningful as possible.”
As hosts, UWNEMN’s United for Veterans committee is tasked with providing a location, volunteers, and preparations necessary to replicate the experience a visitor would have at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The committee will soon be soliciting sponsors and volunteers as well as planning events and ceremonies to honor local Vietnam veterans in the days leading up to The Wall That Heals’ arrival.
“Hosting The Wall That Heals provides an opportunity to honor and remember all those who served and sacrificed in the Vietnam War and educate visitors on the continuing impact of the Vietnam War on America,” said VVMF President and CEO Jim Knotts. “VVMF’s mission is to honor and remember all those who served in the Vietnam War, and we are ready to work with our 2022 hosts to deliver a safe opportunity for thousands to experience the healing and educational aspects of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 2022.”
The Wall That Heals is nationally sponsored by USAA and transported thousands of miles across the country each year through a partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and the trucking industry. Local sponsors of the exhibit’s stay in Chisholm are currently being secured and will be announced at a later date.
Since its debut in 1996, The Wall That Heals exhibit has been on display in nearly 700 U.S. communities in addition to Canada and the Four Provinces of Ireland. The Wall That Heals is a program of VVMF, the nonprofit organization that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1982.
This is the only traveling exhibit affiliated with The Wall in Washington, D.C. Two VVMF staff members lead volunteers on site, educate visitors and students, and ensure the reflective atmosphere of The Wall. For more information on The Wall replica and mobile education center, click HERE.