Massive black granite walls stand inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 men and women who died or remain missing from the Vietnam War. The memorial is an iconic fixture in Washington, D.C. that many from Hawaiʻi won’t ever have a chance to see.
But that’s changing this month. For the first time, "The Wall That Heals" is coming to Hawaiʻi. It’s a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Maui veteran Bo Mahoe is the sergeant-at-arms of the Maui County Veterans Council, which helped bring the traveling wall to the state.
“I have a very direct and personal connection to the Vietnam Wall because I have several members of my platoon that were killed in action," he said. "Once they were taken away from the field, extracted from the jungle, I never really had an opportunity to deal with their loss until visiting the wall in Washington, D.C.”
The wall’s visit was planned long before August’s fires, but Mahoe said the timing is significant. Mahoe, who is from Lahaina, said his community needs healing right now.
“There's a reason why it's called 'The Wall that Heals,'” he said.
The wall will be on Hawaiʻi Island Jan. 24-28 at the Hilo Bayfront. Then it will head to Maui, open to the public at the War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku from Feb. 9-13.
During this time, it will be open 24 hours a day free of charge, staffed by volunteers. Veterans are welcomed, along with school groups, organizations and the general public.
The 375-foot wall arrived in Hilo on a 53-foot trailer, which will later transform into an education center.
Janna Hoehn has been involved in veterans advocacy on Maui for years. She volunteered with "The Wall of Faces" project for more than a decade, finding a photo for each name on the Vietnam Memorial.
“Bringing the wall here, I never thought it could truly happen. The logistics are unbelievable getting it here," said Hoehn. "I am just ecstatic to be able to share this with Maui.”
A smaller, half-scale model of the memorial visited the islands in 1987 and 1993. But Hoehn said "The Wall That Heals" may never be back again because of the challenges in getting it to Hawaiʻi.
Mahoe calls it a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“Take the opportunity to visit this wall because the only other way to visit the wall like this is to take that long journey to Washington D.C., which takes a lot of money, energy, time and of course emotion and it's coming to our shores so please take advantage of coming to visit it," Mahoe said.
