Local Vets Help Install Vietnam Memorial Wall

Visiting the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. was a very emotional an experience for him. Now that a touring replica has come to Will County, Nathan Rittenhouse, a Channahon resident, wouldn't miss it.

"It took me 20 years to see it the first time, I felt like this was something — I needed to be here," he said.

Rittenhouse, a Vietnam Veteran in the Marine Corps, was among many volunteers who helped install the Moving Wall at the American Legion Post 1977 in New Lenox Thursday. 

"To me, it's an honor to be here," said Shorewood resident Jose Olvera. 

Olvera served state-side as an E6 in the Army during the war. However, his friend, Mike Schoener, was shot in Vietnam, he said. 

Rittenhouse and Olvera installed the first panel of names. They took it off the truck and slowly carried it over the camouflage-draped metal framework. They tipped it upward and held it as others screwed it in.

As these men waited for the panels to be ready to unload, they stood with friends and fellow veterans, Ron Gabriel and John Cap. The group said they read a brochure on the wall that listed the names. They said they knew eight or nine people on the list who were killed.

Rittenhouse fought back the tears as he rattled off the list of areas he where served: I-Corps, Dong Hoa, and Quan Tre.

The Moving Wall is brought to New Lenox by the Vietnam Combat Veterans. It is not affiliated with the National Park Service, which is the steward of the memorial in Washington. It will remain on display through Monday. It then heads to Ogdensburg, NY.

To read the complete story on the installation, click .