The Dignity Memorial® Vietnam Wall, a traveling, three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is visiting Manhattan for the first time this November. The Wall will make its home at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex November 8 – 20, 2011.
The memorial is dedicated to Vietnam veterans and honors all service men and women of the United States military forces. The 240-foot long, eight foot high, faux-granite replica contains the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam. To see the memorial, to touch it and experience its magnitude will offer moments of reflection and healing to thousands of visitors.
The Wall will be displayed twenty-four hours a day on Intrepid’s Pier 86, free of charge.
The arrival of The Wall at Intrepid will be emotional experience. The Wall will leave in a customized trailer from its storage area on Staten Island at 9:30am on Monday, November 7th. NYPD and over 100 motorcycle riders– including those from The Nam Knights of America, Patriot Guard Riders, Rolling Thunder, Hudson Valley Harley and other motorcycle groups--- will escort The Wall on its journey to Intrepid.
After the Wall travels over the Goethals Bridge to New Jersey, NJ State Troopers will join in and escort The Wall to the George Washington Bridge and to its Port Authority of New York and New Jersey escort. From the GW Bridge, NYPD will again meet up with the group and escort The Wall and the motorcycle clubs as they travel down Broadway and cross over 49th Street. Finally, The Wall will turn south on The West Side Highway to arrive at Intrepid around 11am.
For any motorcycle riders that would like to join, please meet in Staten Island before the 9:30am departure at the UA Stadium Theater parking lot at 2474 Forest Ave. While the Intrepid is closed this day, we encourage New Yorkers to keep an eye out for The Wall and its escorts and pay your respects as it passes through the city streets.
The Museum will have a full two weeks of special events and programming centered on the Wall, veterans and the history of the Vietnam War era, including a special Veterans Day Ceremony.
Click Here for a full schedule of programming |