The first time I went to Washington, DC, I went to the Vietnam Memorial. I remember being struck at how quiet it became the closer to the wall I got. To see the names, all of those names, knowing that each was a person with a family, loves, and a life that was cut short was quite sobering.

If you've never been able to see the Vietnam Memorial in person, you have a chance to see a special travelling exhibit this week in Ulster County. It’s a three-fifths scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., reaching 6 feet high at its apex and stretching almost three hundred feet from end to end and bears the names of over 58,000 service members who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War.

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein announced that The Vietnam Travelling Memorial Wall will be at Cantine Veterans Memorial Complex in Saugerties from Thursday, July 19 through Sunday, July 22. An opening ceremony will be held Thursday morning at 11 with local dignitaries, after which the memorial will be open for public viewing 24-hours a day until Sunday, July 22 at 8 pm.

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