Vietnam War memorial comes to campus

RELEASED: April 24, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—The Wall That Heals, a national touring exhibition, is currently on campus at Centre's Norton Center for the Arts through April 27.

An opening ceremony in recognition of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was held this afternoon on the lawn of the Norton Center. At 7 p.m. there will be a lecture by Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, in Weisiger Theatre inside the Norton Center.

Many members of the Centre and local community came out to the opening ceremony. Click here for photos.

Will Johnson '08 says, "Unlike all the wars before it, no one understood why we were fighting in Vietnam and how we were going to win it. It's known as the only war the U.S. lost. The wall is important because it helps us all begin to heal and come to terms with the confusion surrounding the Vietnam War."

Megan Gatewood '10 says it's good that the Vietnam Wall exhibition travels to various areas of the country because individuals in Danville and other places might not get to experience the actual Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C.

"This wall with all of these names reminds each of us how precious our lives are," Gatewood says.

Created by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the exhibition is visiting communities across the United States. The half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is accompanied by a mobile museum that tells the story of the Vietnam War, The Wall, and the era.

The mobile museum features a map of Vietnam, a chronology of the war, and related information that helps explain the conflict. A computerized Information Center also allows visitors to search for information about those named on the Memorial Wall.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

For more information: http://www.nortoncenter.com/show/117

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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