Traveling Vietnam Memorial Rolls Into County

Story and Photos By Jay King and Jed Blackwell Thousands of area residents lined the highways Tuesday as the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall passed through several small towns on its way to USC-Upstate. Escorted by several hundred motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard and Rolling Thunder, the truck bearing the half scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall received an enthusiastic welcome from residents lining both sides of the highway. The truck with the wall was joined by the bikers in Landrum as the caravan headed down Hwy 14 through downtown Landrum before turning onto Asheville Highway where it proceeded all the way to the main quad at USC Upstate. Carol Beck, the wife of the president of the Rolling Thunder group escorting the wall, said that this was the third time her group had escorted the wall memorial and that doing so requires a great deal of coordination with all those involved. “This is a special thing,” Beck said. “This brings the history to people who might not know about the Vietnam War.” She added that the traveling wall provides an opportunity to honor those who served in Vietnam because so often they received no recognition when they returned home after the war. “As it says (on the side of the truck), it’s the wall that heals,” Beck said. “It’s very cathartic.” USC Upstate’s Frieda Marie Patrick Davison said that it has taken the past 18 months to arrange to have the wall come through Spartanburg County and set up the exhibit on USC Upstate’s campus. “We were looking especially for something to honor our alumni and faculty who fought in Vietnam because that was going on.” Susan Hodge, another staff member at USC Upstate, said that the wall was part of an overall theme in which students learned about the Vietnam era and the multitudinous social issues of the day as part of the school’s celebration of its 40th anniversary. “Building futures for 40 years – that’s what our mission has been as a metropolitan university,” Hodge said. She said the support from the motorcycle groups had helped immeasurably in planning the logistics of the route., and she also expressed thanks to all the community members who gave their support to this effort. Davison added that the wall was a perfect opportunity to reach younger generations with information about the Vietnam era. “We are first and foremost a teaching institution, and we look for teaching opportunities,” Davison said. “This was one of them.” The scene was much the same in Inman, as people lined Hwy. 176 to watch the wall and its escorts pass by. Ronnie Dorn brought his four-year-old son, Lucas, out for the ride. “I’d like to see it. I think it will be something my little boy will cherish when he’s growing up. I want to teach him to pay respect to our veterans.” Veteran Randall Bishop was also on hand. A National Guard veteran of the Korean War era, Bishop came to pay tribute to those who served and those who fell in Vietnam. “I want to come out when there’s anything patriotic,” he said. “I believe in my country.”