TAHLEQUAH, Okla. —The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall arrived by a motorcade escort to the Cherokee Nation Tuesday and is now on display at Sequoyah High School’s football field around the clock through Sunday.
“The Cherokee Nation and Sequoyah High School are proud to host the Dignity Vietnam Memorial Wall. Hosting the memorial is a very special occasion for the Cherokee people, and especially for me,” said Deputy Chief Joe Crittenden, a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. “I’m both saddened and filled with a sense of pride when I think of the names carved into those walls. It’s extremely important we remember that each name represents a life given in the service of our country and the promise of freedom. Not only does the display give us a chance to honor these men and women, but it also gives us a chance to educate our young people on our history, and that freedom is something to value. We hope the community will take time to honor those lives by visiting the memorial.”
The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The replica, which stands 8 feet high and 240 feet long, has the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam inscribed in its walls. The memorial travels across the country every year in an effort to honor and support U.S. veterans and active military.
The traveling Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall arrived by a motorcade escort Tuesday to Cherokee Nation’s Sequoyah High School, where it will be on display Wednesday, April 17, through Sunday, April 21.
At the end of its current tour it will permanently retire and be installed at Fort Benning, Ga., at the Vietnam War Museum.
“The Vietnam War has become a footnote in most public education history courses,” said Tony O’seland, director of the Veterans War Archive Project at Northeastern State University, who helped coordinate the wall’s stop in Tahlequah. “In Oklahoma, the conflict fares little better than being covered in 1 1/2 pages. We lose sight of our heritage and responsibilities when we lose sight of the importance of the sacrifices made by a minority of individuals to protect the majority.”
The memorial opens to the public at 1 p.m. Wednesday and will remain open through Sunday, April 21. An opening ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and the closing ceremony at 4 p.m. Sunday.
For general information on the wall, while in Tahlequah, call 918-456-2551.
