PALMERTON -- Thousands of people came out to the park in Palmerton to walk along the Moving Wall, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C., on its first night here in the borough.
“These men, they weren't even men most of them, they were just young kids right out of high school signed up and they gave their lives for this country, to keep us safe and free,” said Donna Horn.
Many of the people here are men who served in Vietnam.
“When we first came home, we really didn't get much of a welcome but as you can see here, the community has really welcomed the Wall,” said Steve Vlossak, who was one of the people responsible for getting the Wall to Palmerton.
“There are three people I know on that Wall,” said David Kessler from Tamaqua.
Kessler was 21 years old when he served in Vietnam; he lost a leg in combat.
“B-40 rocket explosion and injury, they just about amputated my right leg clear off, almost,” said Kessler.
It took a lot of effort and hard work to get the wall to Palmerton and thanks to United Veterans Organization of Palmerton, it's finally here.
“This blows my mind, I mean, having this here and the amount of people that have come out just today, which is only a half day,” said Bill Gallagher with the organization. “Just unbelievable to let us bring this wall in, and this is just the first day, we still have the weekend.”
“Very important, this is our friends, our buddies, people we served with and there's a lot of family members from this area, there's 18 families,” said Vlossak, who is also with the organization.
To mark the Wall's visit to the borough, a ceremony was held, complete with color guard and bagpipes.
And as the National Anthem was sung, those men who served our country all those years ago, saluted the flag they vowed to protect.
“It's about time these people got their recognition for what they did, really,” said Horn.
The Moving Wall will be in Palmerton until Monday, July 25.
The mayor says there are events planned for each of those days.
