It’s called "The Wall that Heals," and in January 2025, the exhibit traveled to the Big Island and Maui. It’s a replica of the memorial wall that honors Vietnam veterans in Washington, D.C., and is part of a traveling exhibit sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
In January 2026, it will travel to Oʻahu, where it will be open to the public for five days. The healing wall will be on display on the Great Lawn at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu campus.
Among the more than 58,000 names on the wall of Americans who died serving their country are hundreds of Hawaiʻi veterans. The first soldier from Hawaiʻi to be killed in the war was James Gabriel Jr.
Ed Freeman and his wife, Susan Bauer, have worked with Gabriel’s sister, Billie, to bring the wall to Hawaiʻi. Freeman was a Marine and recalls the Fall of Saigon 50 years ago — one of so many stories of those who died in the war.
The opening ceremony for the "Wall that Heals" will be on Jan. 14, 2026. For more information, click here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Dec. 31, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
