The Moving Wall, a traveling half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, returns to Stockton this week.
The exhibit returns to Weber Point Events Center from Thursday through Monday. The memorial will remain open to the public 24 hours a day free of charge during its five-day stay downtown.
The replica of the Washington, D.C. memorial contains the names of more than 58,000 U.S. service members who died during the Vietnam War. Built in 1984 by Vietnam veterans, The Moving Wall was created to bring the experience of the national memorial to communities across the country, particularly for families and veterans unable to travel to Washington.
For Stockton organizers, this year’s visit carries added emotional weight.
“This will be its fifth visit to Stockton,” said Linda Vasquez, event chair for the United Veterans Council of San Joaquin County and chair of the Moving Wall Project. “We knew we had to bring the wall back to Stockton one more time while we still have our Vietnam veterans with us.”
The memorial first came to Stockton in 1994 at the University of the Pacific before returning in 2008, 2017 and 2019, according to Vasquez.
According to 2024 estimates from Data USA, San Joaquin County is home to about 8,902 Vietnam-era veterans, the largest veteran group in the county.
Construction and setup for the memorial begin Wednesday morning with the blessing of the grounds and assembly of the wall’s 74 panels. Organizers said the reading of all 58,281 names engraved on the memorial will begin once the first panel is installed and continue daily throughout the event.
Opening ceremonies and a ribbon cutting are scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday. A Fallen Heroes Ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday and feature Vietnam veterans, including a former military nurse who served during the war.
Volunteers and veterans are expected to remain at the memorial throughout the event, helping visitors locate names on the wall and sharing stories connected to those engraved on the panels.
“It’s a symbol for them,” Vasquez said of local Vietnam veterans. “To see the way that the community embraces the wall and shows that respect heals a lot of wounds for them.”
Vasquez said many veterans who return to the wall never received a warm welcome home after serving in Vietnam, making the memorial a deeply emotional but meaningful experience.
Mental health support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will also be available on site for veterans or family members who may experience emotional distress while visiting the memorial.
The memorial stretches nearly the length of a football field and allows visitors to touch engraved names and create paper rubbings in remembrance of loved ones lost during the war.
The local organization said they hope younger visitors who may not have a direct connection to the Vietnam War see the wall as more than a memorial. Vasquez said many of those listed were close in age to today’s college students, and many were drafted into a war they did not choose.
“The average age of those on the wall is 23 years old,” Vasquez said. “They were young men and women that sacrificed so much, and many of them were drafted. They didn’t even have a choice to go, but they did, and they served.”