A traveling replica of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington will be on display in St. Paul later this week.

“The Wall that Heals” comes to Minnesota via the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and will highlight the yearlong “Minnesota Remembers Vietnam” initiative by Twin Cities Public Television. The replica will stretch across 375 feet of the State Capitol grounds Thursday through Sunday.

The traveling memorial’s size, a three-fourths replica of the original, leaves an emotional impact, TPT project lead Katie Carpenter said. It lists the names of the more than 58,000 U.S. military killed during the war, and visiting the replica should be about providing impactful and varied ways of learning about the Vietnam War, Carpenter said.

Bruce Richardson, a St. Louis Park native and Vietnam War veteran, echoes Carpenter’s assessment.

“I think it’s the greatest anti-war memorial ever built,” he said. “When you see 58,000 names on a wall, it’s a very humbling experience. That’s a lot of people who should not have died.”

Richardson’s West Point class of 1967 has 29 names engraved into the wall.

Richardson’s visit to the memorial in Washington had a lasting impression on him, he said. He works as an advocate for veterans’ mental health care and suicide prevention efforts.

The wall is transported via a trailer which doubles as a travelling museum. The trailer carries digital displays, information about Minnesota’s fallen, artifacts left at the D.C. wall, uniforms and a staff to help visitors find names and give context about the wall’s design.

It will be situated in front of the State Capitol near Minnesota’s own Vietnam War Memorial. It will be available to the public 24 hours a day during its time in St. Paul.

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St. Paul schools superintendent gets high marks, but board wants progress on equity, enrollment, student achievement From locally produced documentaries that tell the stories of Minnesota veterans to an online platform where nearly 800 Vietnam veteran stories have been posted, the intent of the TPT project has been to foster engagement and shine a light on Minnesota’s stories about the war.

To celebrate the wall’s arrival, TPT helped create an event called “Epilogue” to remember and honor stories of the Vietnam War through live music, art and storytelling at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in downtown St. Paul. The event will take place Saturday, June 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. and feature music from JD Steele and the MacPhail Mill City Choir.

For more information, go online to www.MNVietnam.org/wall.