THE WALL THAT HEALS BEGINS ITS 2009 TOUR SEASON IN HARRISONBURG, VA., ON APRIL 2-5
New Museum Exhibits Reflect Concepts Being Used in The Education Center at The Wall

Washington, D.C. — The Wall That Heals, the traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial sponsored by the Memorial Fund, begins its 2009 tour schedule this week with a stop in Harrisonburg, Va., announced Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Memorial Fund.

The half-size replica of The Wall will be transported to the more than 20 stops in its 2009 schedule with a semi cab provided by New Century Transportation based in Westhampton, N.J.

In addition to a new cab, the replica also features a new traveling museum designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates in New York City. Appelbaum is the exhibit designer planning the displays for The Education Center at The Wall, an underground educational facility being built on the National Mall. The traveling museum displays reflect the concepts being developed for the Education Center.

“The Wall That Heals gives people who can’t visit Washington, D.C., the opportunity to visit The Wall and pay tribute to loved ones named there,” said Scruggs. “These new exhibits will help visitors put faces to the names they see on the Wall replica, and it will show everyone what we plan to do in The Education Center when it is built.”

Throughout the winter, the museum trailer used to transport the replica underwent an extensive refitting. Featherlite of Cresco, Iowa, performed the work on the 53-foot aluminum trailer from December until March. The trailer includes nine large display windows on both sides that open to reveal museum exhibits. The improvements performed by Featherlite include making these exhibits weatherproof and shielding display items from damaging ultraviolet rays. Also, changes were made to the interior of the trailer to transport the Wall panels safely and make maximum use of storage space.

The new trailer provided the perfect home for the new exhibits, which feature some of the more than 100,000 items that have been left at The Wall since it was built, including the boots and dog tags worn in Vietnam by Jan Scruggs, who led the effort to build The Wall in 1982, as well as items left at The Wall That Heals. The exhibits also feature photos and biographical information on some of the more than 58,000 individuals whose names are on The Wall. Other displays chronicle the history of The Wall and facts about the Vietnam War.

Before The Wall That Heals hit the road to begin this year’s tour season, it stopped in Washington, D.C. for an unveiling ceremony for the new exhibits. The March 26 ceremony featured Tom Selleck, the national spokesman for the Education Center at The Wall, and other dignitaries unveiling the new exhibits on the spot where the Education Center will be built, near the Lincoln and Vietnam Veterans Memorials.

The Wall That Heals will travel throughout the United States between April and November, beginning in Virginia and traveling to areas as widespread as Florida, Arizona, Minnesota and New York. Its first stop of the year will be in Harrisonburg, Va., from April 2-5. In all, more than 20 sites are scheduled on the 2009 tour, but new locations are continually added throughout the year. (For dates and locations in 2009, visit www.vvmf.org, click on “The Wall That Heals,” then “2009 Tour Schedule.”)

In addition to the replica and the traveling museum, The Wall That Heals also features an information center that helps visitors learn more about friends and loved ones lost in the war and is staffed by volunteers who will assist visitors in finding names on The Wall.

Since its dedication in 1996, The Wall That Heals has visited more than 300 locations throughout the United States, spreading the Memorial's healing legacy to millions. It made its first-ever international journey in 1999 when it went to Ireland to honor the Irish-born casualties of the Vietnam War. It has also traveled to Canada.

In addition to New Century Transportation, other sponsors of The Wall That Heals include Disabled American Veterans Charitable Trust, FedEx Corporation, GEICO, Harley-Davidson Foundation and Target Corporation.

For more information about The Wall That Heals travel schedule or how to bring it to your community, contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund at (202) 393-0090, or e-mail vvmf@vvmf.org.

Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Since then, the Memorial Fund has evolved into an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall, promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War. Its initiatives include educational programs for students and educators, a traveling Wall replica that honors our nation’s veterans and a humanitarian and mine-action program in Vietnam. The Memorial Fund is also building The Education Center at The Wall, an underground educational facility, near The Wall.