The Wall That Heals receives a hero’s welcome in Belmont County
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - More than a thousand residents took to the streets of St. Clairsville and elsewhere to welcome The Wall That Heals to Belmont County on Tuesday afternoon.
A tractor trailer hauling The Wall That Heals — a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial — was met at Bass Pro Shop at the Highlands by a convoy of police officers, American Legion Riders, Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club, Christian Riders Motorcycle Club, members of the St. Clairsville Rotary Club, and cars from the Classy Chassis Car Club.
The convoy led the display from The Highlands to the Belmont County Fairgrounds where it will be able to view around the clock from Oct. 1-4.
When the wall drove through St. Clairsville, Main Street was filled with the entire St. Clairsville Richland City School District student body waving American flags and cheering on the convoy. The St. Clairsville High marching band performed on the Belmont County Courthouse's steps while residents of all ages clapped and shouted words of encouragement to the convoy.
One resident was Lois Julian, whose uncle, Louis Sustersic died in Vietnam.
Julian said that she thinks that the Wall That Heals coming to Belmont County is wonderful.
"There’s a lot of family members left that remember when their loved ones were part of the war, and it’s a good learning experience for the young people of our county," Julian said.
She added that her family traveled to Washington D.C. when the Vietnam Memorial Wall was dedicated in 1982.
"I just feel such a passion and appreciation for the veterans, the ones that survived and the ones that didn’t make it home. That got instilled in me when I was very young," Julian said.
Julian attended the convoy passing through the city because she wanted to make it a point to show her respect.
Sustersic is one of 26 Belmont County veterans whose names are on the Vietnam Wall.
Tim Tetz, site manager of The Wall That Heals, said that Tuesday's arrival was special.
"One of the things that’s special is that every community that hosts the wall has a different escort route, bringing it in, and there’s a lot of opportunities to do that. But one of the special things here in St. Clairsville is that they had over 1,000 students who gathered there beside the road," Tetz said. "Having all of those students sitting there waving flags, it's a good thing they were wearing sunglasses because there’s probably not a dry eye on any one of those motorcycles."
He said the community recognizes that The Wall That Heals is a special thing happening in the community and they wanted to be a part of it.
"For those Vietnam and Vietnam era veterans, they didn’t get a homecoming parade. They didn’t get that welcome home, and this was their opportunity to sit there and say, 'Hey, today is something special," Tetz said. "It’s many years past due, but it's great."
He added that one of the unique things is that the Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial but it has all 58,281 names in the exact same place that they'd be found at the Wall in Washington D.C.
Tetz said that, in addition to the replica, The Wall That Heals has a mobile education center that is on the 53-foot trailer that wall.
"That trailer also turns into a museum of sorts, so it helps us display some of the 400,000 items that have been left behind at the wall in Washington D.C. You wouldn’t even get to see those if you went to a museum in D.C.," Tetz said. "Then, we’ll have two 6-foot screens on the other side that’ll show those men and women from this county and the counties adjacent to it, as well as those Vietnam veterans who came back and have been honored through the in-memory program from throughout Ohio."
Guided tours of the entire display will be offered in the evenings on Thursday and Friday and then all day Saturday, so attendees can better understand the Vietnam War, how that led to the memorial, and how the memorial and the Vietnam veterans changed the way that the country deals with its veterans today.
Belmont County Tourism Council executive director and Belmont County Wall That Heals Committee co-chair Jackee Pugh said that although The Wall That Heals is in Belmont County, Tuesday's convoy showed that the event is bigger than county or state lines.
"Today’s escort into Belmont County started in Wheeling, and seeing the whole Ohio Valley come together, blurring of county and state lines, and just really just in support of our veterans and welcoming the wall that will be here in Belmont County for these next four days was an honor," Pugh said. "I’m just so glad to see how much pride, support, and honor that was given to our veterans today."
She added it was an honor and a privilege to see the streets lined with people waving flags and exuding so much American pride.
"I know that it meant a lot to me as a citizen and a local of Belmont County. But I can’t imagine how that felt to our Vietnam veterans that were able to participate in the escort today," Pugh said. "I am so proud to see how our community has rallied together to support this event."
Belmont County Commissioner Vince Gianangeli also participated in the convoy as a member of the American Legion Riders.
Gianangeli's brother Tom Gianangeli is a Vietnam veteran who suffers from the effects of Agent Orange.
Gianangeli was emotional when speaking about seeing all of the residents who lined the streets to welcome the riders.
"I literally got tears in my eyes a few times as I passed these children waving the flags. So I’m sorry if I can get a little emotional," Gianangeli said. "I just feel bad for Tom, because he’s in hospital today and suffers from Agent Orange. I just hope that he’s going to be OK."
The wall will be installed throughout the day on Wednesday and will have a “Welcome Home” ceremony at noon Thursday at the fairgrounds.