Vietnam vets encouraged to welcome wall

The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall will be coming to Mills Park Oct. 25-28 for the inaugural celebration of “Battle Born Days,” and organizers are encouraging all local Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans to participate in the procession bringing the Wall into town.The 360-foot-long mobile memorial is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It’s one of four such walls that travel across the United States serving as tributes to the more than 58,000 Americans who died in the Vietnam War. A traveling wall hasn’t been in Carson City since 1991.“We want to make this a ‘coming home’ celebration for Vietnam vets,” said Rick Arnold, who heads the Vietnam Veterans of America, Carson Area Chapter 388.“The Wall escort itself will be pretty spectacular,” Arnold said. “We expect a minimum of 500 motorcycles in the caravan. This is a controlled ride, so prospective riders need to sign up at the Battle Born website (www.battleborndays.com). Spectators will be able to line up along the route once we are south of Reno on U.S. 395. We’d certainly like to see a great turn-out from Northern Nevada.”The procession will begin about noon Oct. 24 on Interstate 80 outside of Fernley, then to Reno, turning south on Interstate 580 and exiting onto U.S. 395 at the South Virginia street exit. The procession will go through Pleasant Valley and Washoe Valley into Carson City, exiting at U.S. 50 and proceeding west to Mills Park. To sign up to join the honor guard for the wall or to join the parade, contact Rick Arnold at 775-720-3907, or email rick@directdemocracy.com.