West Orange Ready To Welcome Vietnam Traveling Wall For July 4 Holiday

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange is almost ready to welcome the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall to its borders on Friday in tribute to fallen veterans. Will you be among the many who pay their respects while the wall is on display for the Independence Day weekend?

According to town officials, the traveling wall is a three-fifth scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It stands 6-feet tall at the center and covers almost 300 feet from end to end.

It contains more than 58,000 names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, including six service members from West Orange, officials said.

This will be the only New Jersey stop on the wall’s tour of the United States this year, town officials said.

“The wall is a testament to the bravery of those from West Orange and communities just like it, who sacrificed for our freedoms,” Mayor Robert Parisi said. “We’re proud to have the honor of hosting this memorial in our township.”

The memorial will be on display from July 1 to 4 at West Orange High School, Suriano Stadium, 51 Conforti Avenue. An opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on July 1, which will include a flyover from a UH Blackhawk helicopter around 10 a.m.

The public can view the wall for free from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until the closing ceremony at 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4.

The memorial will make its entrance into West Orange at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 30 with a motorcade that will include dozens of veteran service organizations, motorcycle and law enforcement and firefighter escorts. The motorcade will arrive via Exit 7 on I-280, travel North on Pleasant Valley Way and enter the field at West Orange High School from Carteret Street.

For more information about the event, contact Shari Quirk at squirk@westorange.org or call the mayor’s office at 973-325-4100.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page here.

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Photo: CBS News