WARREN, Ohio — The Wall That Heals returned to the city after Memorial Day, and Warren is the only community in Ohio hosting the wall, which last came to Warren in August of 2018.

The Wall That Heals contains the names of 58,281 military personnel who were killed in action during the Vietnam War or listed as missing. Of those killed in action, 103 were from Mahoning County and 61 were from Trumbull County.

The Wall That Heals is a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It arrived in Trumbull County May 27 after getting a motorcycle escort from Quaker Steak & Lube on Patriot Boulevard in Austintown.

The escort will line up at 1 p.m. and leave Austintown at 2 p.m. It will travel Interstate 80 East to state Route 11 North to state Route 82 West and get off the East Market Street exit. It should arrive in Warren around 3 p.m., where it will be escorted down East Market Street and past the Trumbull County Veterans Resource Center to Mahoning Avenue NW, where it will go past the war memorial in Courthouse Square and head to its final destination on the south lawn of Packard Music Hall.

Residents are encouraged to line the route along East Market Street and Mahoning Avenue NW, as well as attend the escort sendoff in Austintown.

The Wall that Heals is transported in a 53-foot trailer. When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides, allowing it to serve as a mobile education center telling the story of the Vietnam War, the wall and the divisive era in American history.

The wall will be set up between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 28. There are many volunteers helping with the setup, including 40 Junior ROTC students from the Youngstown City School District, according to James Valesky, co-chair of the Warren Heritage Center. The center is listed as a sponsor of the wall because it needs to be affiliated with a nonprofit organization.

There will be a volunteer orientation at 5 p.m. and 24-hour wall visitation will begin at 6 p.m. May 28.

May 29 is the official opening day of The Wall That Heals and the Veterans Resource Center will be open at the Packard Park Shelter House from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The opening day ceremony will be at 6 p.m. The resource center will house information about veterans resources and will contain exhibits.

May 30 is Family Day and there will be children’s activities from noon to 3 p.m. The Veterans Resource Center will be open at the Packard Park Shelter House from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Nightingale Service honoring the eight women nurses on The Wall That Heals will take place at 6 p.m.

On May 31 at 2 p.m. will be a Medal of Honor ceremony for those who died in Vietnam. The Resource Center will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The wall will close at noon on June 1, after which disassembly will occur so the traveling exhibit can head to its next stop.

The Wall That Heals drew an approximate 13,000 people when it was here in 2018. Warren will be the only city in Ohio to host the three-quarter scale, 375-foot long, 7.5-foot tall wall replica during 2025. The wall is erected in a chevron-shape and visitors can do name rubbings of individual service members’ names. It is constructed of Avonite, a synthetic granite, and its 140 numbered panels are supported by an aluminum frame. Machine engraving along with modern LED lighting make the wall easy to read day and night, according to a pamphlet provided by the Warren Heritage Center.

The Wall That Heals honors the more than 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and it bears the names of 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Valesky, who served in the U.S. Marines, said the wall allows people to honor veterans from that period as well as provide opportunities for veterans and their families to heal by visiting the wall.

“The last time it was here it brought the community together, families together and it brought classmates together to not only remember the fallen in sorrow, but also the good times,” Valesky said. “Most of these people (who served in Vietnam) were young.”

Valesky said Dr. John and Denise York of Boardman worked with the Warren Heritage Center to provide some funds that were needed to get The Wall That Heals to the city.

The mobile exhibit will include digital photo displays of “Hometown Heroes” — service members whose names are on the wall that had their home of record within the area of the visit; digital photo displays of Vietnam veterans through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s In Memory program, which honors veterans who returned home and later died; educational exhibits told through items representative of those left at the Wall in D.C.; a replica of the In Memory plaque; and a map of Vietnam and a chronological overview of the Vietnam War.

Former Trumbull County Veteran Services Commission Director Herm Breuer, also a co-chair of the committee, said it is really important to look back to that era to remember what was happening at the time, so as not to repeat whatever mistakes may have been made.

“The nation that forgets its history is doomed to repeat it,” Breuer said. “You can make a parallel to what is happening to our country today. It is important to pass those lessons to our children today.”

The fee just to bring the wall here is $12,000, which does not cover all the costs. There are a lot of in-kind services that are needed.

In 2018, the group worked closely with local veterans organizations.

Valesky said he started talking to organizers of The Wall That Heals in 2018 and asked if they could come back to Warren. He said they try to be fair to all the states so it would be at least five years before the wall would return.

“Then COVID happened, so there were several years the wall didn’t travel,” Valesky said.

He said the application for getting the wall opens every Memorial Day.

“I applied at 12:01 a.m. on Memorial Day of 2024,” he said. “We were fortunate to be chosen again,” Valesky said.

He said he is hoping even more people will visit the wall this year since it’s the only stop in Ohio.