NEWS RELEASE                                                    

For Immediate Release                                                                      

                                                                                                             

 

Thousands Visit Dignity Memorial® Vietnam Wall In Raleigh

Replica of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Attracts 18,000 Visitors Over Veterans Day Weekend

 

(Raleigh, NC) November 15, 2006—More than 18,000 people visited the Dignity Memorial® Vietnam Wall during the exhibit’s appearance in Raleigh over the Veteran’s Day weekend.  The Wall was on display in downtown Raleigh from Friday November 10 through Sunday November 12.  The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, DC.  It travels to different cities throughout the United States each year.  This was its first appearance in Raleigh.

 

“We were overwhelmed with the response to the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall while it was here in Raleigh,” said Clyde Queen of Brown-Wynne Funeral Homes and coordinator of the exhibit.  “The turnout of veterans, family members and the community as a whole was a moving experience for everyone who was involved in bringing the Wall to Raleigh.”

 

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall was on display on the Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh, and its appearance coincided with the North Carolina Veterans Day Parade that was held Saturday.

 

“The combination of the parade and the beautiful weather obviously helped in attracting people to the Wall,” said Queen.  “This was important since many people in this area may never get a chance to visit the actual memorial in Washington.”

 

Many visitors left memorabilia and keepsakes at the exhibit over the weekend.  Those items were collected and will be sent to the North Carolina Veterans Freedom Park in Cary and sealed in a special Armed Forces commemorative vault. The vault will be dedicated at the park on December 7.

 

About the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is a three-quarter scale replica of “The Wall,” the most celebrated component of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  It is dedicated to all Americans who served in Vietnam and honors all veterans of the U.S. military.  The Dignity Memorial network of funeral, cremation and cemetery providers created the replica in 1990 to serve distance communities throughout the nation. The faux-granite replica is 240 feet in length and eight feet in height.  Similar to the actual memorial, the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam are inscribed on its black, mirror-like surface. For more information, contact Clyde Queen (919) 876-6900 or Graham Wilson, PRStreet at (919) 467-5567 or gwilson@prstreet.com.

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