Moving Wall On Display June 29-July 2
The sacrifices of American soldiers who gave their lives during the decade-long Vietnam War will be honored all next weekend in Middle Village as a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. will be on display at Juniper Valley Park.
Residents from across Queens are invited to visit the Moving Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, which will be opened for public viewing next Friday morning, June 29, beginning at 10 a.m. on the ballfields of Juniper Valley Park near the Sept. 11, 2001 memorial, which is located off the intersection of Juniper Boulevard South and 78th Street.
The wall’s display is made possible through the efforts of the Queens Veterans Day Parade Committee, the United Veterans and Fraternal Organizations of Maspeth (UVFOM) and Maspeth Federal Savings bank and supported by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 32.
Beginning next Wednesday, June 27, a team of workers from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners will install a temporary wooden platform where the wall will be erected the following day. Following a solemn ceremony next Friday morning, the public will be able to visit the wall to reflect and see the names of the more than 58,000 soldiers who lost their life in the 10-year conflict.
Next Friday night, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 32 will hold a candlelight vigil at the mall at 7 p.m. to remember those soldiers who were prisoners of war or classified as being missing in action.
Salvatore Candela, president of the Middle Village Property Owners/ Residents Association (MVPORA) and a member of the Queens Veterans Day Parade Committee, told residents at the MVPORA’s June 11 meeting that the wall will be open 24 hours a day during its stay in Middle Village.
“This is a new way to tell [the Vietnam veterans] thank you,” Candela said. “I’m very proud that we had a piece of getting this done.”
Temporary lighting will be installed near the monument to help make the location secure and safe for all visitors coming to the park at night. Additionally, local veterans are volunteering to provide security details.
It was also noted that overnight parking restrictions along Juniper Boulevard South near the Moving Wall display will be temporarily suspended to allow visitors a place to park their vehicles nearby.
The display of the wall will conclude with a closing ceremony at 10 a.m. on Monday morning, July 2. After the ceremony is over, the replica monument and platform will be dismantled in order to be shipped to its next location.
Designed by John Devitt, the wall resembles the black granite monument in Washington opened in 1982 on the National Mall. Moved by the experience, he and several other veterans volunteered to create a replica that could be transported across the country to allow local communities a chance to reflect and remember those who gave their lives during the war.
The moving wall was first displayed in Tyler, Texas in October 1984; there are currently two replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial walls which are circulated across the United States between April and November.
As previously reported, veterans groups had tried to bring the Moving Wall to Juniper Valley Park in 2004, but an agreement could not be reached, and the display was ultimately brought to Cunningham Park. Most recently, the Moving Wall was on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan.
The organizers of the Middle Village display are still asking for the public to assist them with the construction and deconstruction of the wall as well as to provide refreshments, food and other support to those working on the site. Monetary contributions toward the cost of the project are also being accepted.
Anyone wishing to participate or contribute can contact the Queens Veterans Day Parade Committee by phone at 1-718-965-7500, online at www.qvdp.org or by mail to P.O. Box 790283, Middle Village, NY 11379.
