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'A lot of emotions, a lot of tears' seen at Moving Wall
By BOB OTTO
For five days filled with long hours, Rebecca Clark helped people locate names on a 252.83-foot long wall. She wouldn't have spent those five days in any other fashion.
Clark was one of dozens of volunteers who worked tirelessly while the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall was at Miller Park in Fontana. On Monday, her volunteerism ended as she helped the last person locate a name on the Moving Wall.
“I've seen a lot of emotions, there was a lot of tears out here,” said Clark, a member of the Fontana VFW Post 6563 Women's Auxiliary. “But there was joy too. Some of the veterans came looking for buddies on the Wall and didn't find them; they were happy about that.”
By all accounts, the Moving Wall's stay in Fontana was a success. Saturday and Sunday drew especially good crowds, with a steady stream of 20 to 50 people filing along the Wall throughout the days.
“Sunday was really great and everybody was respectful of the Wall,” said Clark. “I heard it said a lot to (visiting) veterans, ‘Welcome home.' People were very appreciative.”
While the volunteers worked long and hard around the clock, Joe Dean, commander of American Legion Post 772, worked even harder. Dean spent over a year leading the drive to bring the Moving Wall to Fontana.
On Monday afternoon, during closing ceremonies, Dean thanked all those who made the event possible. And he said the city did itself proud in bring the Moving Wall to Fontana for the first time.
“I'm a lifelong resident,” said Dean. “Our city really shined this week. For the past five days this (Miller Park) has been sacred ground for the 58,256 true heroes on this Wall.”
During the final hours leading up to the disassembling of the Moving Wall, visitors searched for names and then made rubbings to keep as remembrances. Bill Rue and Diana Vallance came from Rancho Cucamonga to find their high school classmate, James McGuire.
It was their first visit to the Moving Wall. And they found their boyhood friend.
“He was in the Army and died in 1969,” said Rue, whose emotions brimmed over with tears in his eyes. “He was my older brother's best friend. We rode horseback together and played basketball and barbequed a lot. We were all just good friends.”
Rue enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating from high school in 1968 and served two tours in Vietnam. Standing next to him at the Moving Wall was Felix Sepulveda, also a former Marine who served 18 months in Vietnam.
Both men are proud of their service, and they feel fortunate to come home. Sepulveda was grateful that Fontanans came out to pay homage to the heroes on the Moving Wall. “It's a beautiful thing for the Wall to come here,” he said.
As a final farewell, Sepulveda started walking slowly and solemnly from one end of the wall to the other with the palm of his right hand gliding softly across the names saying goodbye to his comrades. “It's good to come here and honor the sacrifice these 58,000 men (and women) gave,” said Sepulveda, a Fontana resident.
All along the base of the Moving Wall, people left notes, cards, pictures, small flags, red and yellow roses and balloons for the sons and daughters, husbands and wives, grandmothers and grandfathers who are forever remembered on the Moving Wall.
The Boys and Girls Club of Fontana left clusters of dedications made by youngsters at several locations along the Moving Wall.
Thirteen-year-old Jason Flores' card simply read, “Thank you for defending our country.” Another Boys and Girls Club card written in a child's handwriting stated, “Dear soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War, thank you for protecting our country.”
For three years, Aaron and Lisa Gray have traveled about the country bringing the half-scale replica Moving Wall to people unable to travel to Washington D.C. to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The Grays lives in White Pine, Michigan. In April they begin their journey bringing the Moving Wall to cities that have scheduled a visit. They are traveling city-to-city from April 13 until Nov. 15, with just a one-week break during those seven months.
And they won't have much of a break after leaving Fontana. On Thursday they will repeat the ceremony in Covina, as they do in more than 30 cities each year.
“By the end of the summer we're pretty worn out,” said Aaron. “But this is so gratifying. The people we meet are phenomenal.”
The Closing Ceremonies featured music by the Fontana A.B. Miller High School Chamber Singers, who sang the National Anthem. And the A.B. Miller High School U.S. Navy Jr. ROTC posted the colors. Councilmember John Roberts gave the welcome to about 200 in attendance.
“A number of families in Fontana have sacrificed so much so we have the freedom we enjoy today,” said Roberts. “This is an amazing, solemn event to have The Moving Wall in Fontana. It's a humbling experience.”
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