Vietnam Wall replica coming to Bensenville

The Wall That Heals, the traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, will be on display for four days in Bensenville and will arrive Tuesday, June 18, with an escort of police, veterans and others on motorcycles and in classic cars.

The procession to bring the wall to the park will begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday from the Holiday Inn Itasca on Irving Park Road and travel east on Irving Park, turning south on Church Road to Jefferson, then continuing east on Jefferson to Redmond Park, 735 E. Jefferson St.

It will be escorted by police and more than two dozen motorcycles representing the American Legion Riders, the Patriot Guard, the Teamsters Horsemen and the Wildfire Hogs of Villa Park. It also will be escorted by members of the Illinois Camaro Club in at least 12 vintage Camaros.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors the more than 3 million Americans who served with the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War. The wall bears the names of the more than 58,000 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.

“This year we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war in Vietnam. It is vital that our society never forget the great sacrifices our veterans and their families made during this long and costly conflict,” Bensenville Village President Frank Soto said.

Opening ceremonies for The Wall That Heals will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 20, at the park. The wall will then be on display continuously at the soccer field in Redmond Park in Bensenville until the closing ceremonies at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 23.