WILDWOOD — The Wildwoods’ Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955 and the American Legion Byron Pennington Crocker Post 184 will unveil the new Wildwoods’ Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Wall on May 29 at noon.
The dedication and unveiling ceremony for the Remembrance Wall will be held at Columbus Park located at Burk and Ocean avenues.
A free Celebration of Heroes Festival will take place at Fox Park, directly across from the Wildwoods Convention Center, from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. before and after the ceremony.
The Remembrance Wall — the only one of its kind in the Northeast — will be an exact, half-size, black granite replica of the official Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. It will have the 58,913 names of our country’s fallen heroes from the Vietnam War etched on its panels and will stretch for 240 feet along the existing sidewalks of Columbus Park.
The idea of bringing a permanent replica of the Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Wall to the Wildwoods began in March 2008, when members of the Wildwoods’ Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955 decided to bring a traveling version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to the Wildwoods for a weekend.
To date, the wall has been completely privately funded. Relying on the generosity of Wildwood residents and organizations to help finance the wall, the group has raised a total of $126,000, to date, for the memorial wall.
The Wildwoods American Legion donated $7,500; the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce donated $5,000; and the FOP Lodge 409 donated $4,000 for the building of the wall.
The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955 and American Legion Post 184 also raised money for the wall by holding fundraising events, including Beef and Beer events at the Bolero Resort in Wildwood in January 2009 and 2010, raising a total of $21,000 between the two events.
“We thought it would take four or five years to raise enough funds to bring a permanent Vietnam Memorial Wall to the Wildwoods. But thanks to the generosity of the residents and organizations in the Wildwoods, we’ve done it in 18 months,” said Vince DePrinzio, treasurer of the Wildwoods’ Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955.
Money isn’t the only thing that’s been contributed in support of the wall. The Wildwood Sons of Italy generously provided the land along Columbus Park for the wall to be built.
Additionally, over 30 volunteers from the Wildwood Carpenter’s Union, along with Troiano and Sons Concrete and Masonry of Wildwood, have worked tirelessly to prepare the site of the Memorial Wall and donated their time and materials at no cost.
For more information, contact Tracey DuFault at 609-729-4000 or Vince DePrinzio at 609-463-8342 or 609-827-7062.
Sea Isle City – I miss the Nativity scene they used to display outside the historic St. Joseph’s church on Landis Avenue! It was a true reminder of the reason for the season!
