Vietnam wall passes through New Albany

A motorcade including an estimated 100 vehicles passed through New Albany about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday escorting a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

The group, including mostly motorcyclists along with some Benton County emergency vehicles, law enforcement and patriot trucks, was headed to Ashland.

The wall is scheduled to be on display at the Benton County Fairgrounds March 12-15 and will be available 24 hours a day until 2 p.m. March 15.

A ceremony will be held from 10 a.m. until noon Saturday, March 14. It will include U. S. Rep. Trent Kelly and retired Gen. Al Hopkins as speakers, accompanied by a flyover by Columbus Air Force Base.

The wall is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. and is part of an exhibit called “The Wall That Heals.”

The wall is 375 feet long and stands 7.5 feet tall at its highest point. It honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War and includes 58,276 names of servicemen and women who died in Vietnam.

The escort stretched out of sight in both directions as it passed New Albany High School.