Traveling Vietnam exhibit copies Washington wall

When Steve Doty travels the country, two words he hears often are “thank you.”

“And then they’ll say, ‘We need stuff like this to remember and honor our veterans.’ ”

Doty, a Vietnam vet, is president of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, a nonprofit organization that relies on sponsorships. The traveling tribute’s main exhibit is a wall that’s 8 feet high, 378 feet long and replicates the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It will be displayed July 28-31 at the Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights. Last summer, the Wall was at the Coeur d’Alene tribal casino in Worley, Idaho.

Doty, who served in Vietnam from 1967-70 with the Air Force, bought the wall two years ago from a man in Florida. It is one of three replicas, all run by different people. Doty’s replica is the largest at 80 percent the size of the permanent black granite wall, which was completed in November 1982. There are more than 58,000 names etched in the wall, representing the servicemen and women who died during the Vietnam War, or remain missing in action.

The Moving Wall, one-half the size of the permanent wall, and The Dignity Memorial, a three-quarter scale wall, are the two other replicas and toured the area in 1998.

Doty, who lives in Port Angeles, Wash., said it takes three days to set up The Wall and two to disassemble it. It will be on display in the casino’s parking lot.

A locator tent – where people can find veterans through names, home towns or military unit numbers – also will be set up. Visitors can make rubbings of etched names for keepsakes. An exhibit called Vietnam Remembered Art Collection also will be on display. The collection includes original paintings depicting the war experience and its aftermath as seen through Vietnam vet Norm Bergsma.

The Wall, which will be open around the clock, is being sponsored by KHQ-TV and Harley-Davidson. Admission is free.

Jennifer Simmons, casino spokesperson, said plans are under way for an opening ceremony.