A Massachusetts veterans group wants to send dozens of local Vietnam veterans to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. — a “healing experience” for the vets who deserve a proper welcome home, members of the group tell the Herald.

Veterans Assisting Veterans is raising money to pay for 50 Vietnam veterans to head to D.C. for a weekend trip and see the memorial’s black granite walls, which are inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 men and women who died or remain missing.

The trip, called “On Track to the Wall,” would include an Amtrak train ticket, dinner receptions and lodging. The veterans wouldn’t pay a dime.

“People could gather outside when they know the train is passing by, and cheer on our Vietnam veterans,” said John MacDonald of Veterans Assisting Veterans, a nonprofit based north of Boston. “The veterans didn’t get the proper welcome home before, but we want them to get that now.”

Patti Moschella, whose husband, Dennis, is the group’s president, said she envisions people outside the train holding “Welcome Home” signs for the veterans.

“It’s the reception these Vietnam veterans should have gotten originally,” MacDonald added.

The organization is aiming to send about 50 Vietnam veterans down to the wall next September.

Rick Green, co-owner of Westford-based automotive company 1A Auto, is the honorary chair of the trip for the Vietnam vets. Both of his grandfathers served in World War II, and his father was based in Thailand during the Vietnam War.

“The wall is a healing experience for them,” Green said. “It’s part of their healing process. They deserve that.”

In addition to the visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the group hopes to bring the vets to the White House.

They’re setting up an application for Vietnam veterans to sign up for the trip. The application will ask for their name, branch of military, years they served, where they served and if they have seen the wall.

The weekend trip would cost about $1,000 per veteran. Vietnams Assisting Veterans is seeking the public’s help to fund the trips, as well as business owners to sponsor veterans.

The group has already set aside $10,000 to pay for 10 veterans.

“We know this is the type of thing that will spread across the country,” MacDonald said.

To donate, send money/checks to Veterans Assisting Veterans, P.O. Box 274, Dracut MA 01826.

For more information about Veterans Assisting Veterans and the trip application, visit their Facebook page or call 781-316-4486.