While Memorial Day weekend brings a lot of fun, family outdoor activities, the main significance of the holiday is to remember those who gave their lives serving our country.
On Friday, the Vietnam Moving Wall was at the Eastside Memorial in Minden, honoring those fallen heroes from Vietnam.Â
The wall consists of 53,318 names. 153 being native Nevadans. There were seven women nurses, three fathers and sons, and seven sets of brothers.
The opening ceremony kicked off Memorial Day weekend, with prayers, speeches and tributes to those who served, both those that have fallen and those who are still standing.
The wall is the half replica of the one in Washington D.C., and this isn't the first time it's made its way to Minden.
"It's an application that you put in for the moving wall. Usually, it takes several years to get accepted, but since we brought it previously in 2018 and they loved it here and the experience they had, so they said anytime just let us know and we would be back," said Nadia Sandoval, Owner of the Eastside Memorial.
Some veterans who have gone to that memorial, say this one still gives the same feeling.
"They wouldn't have gotten the chance to see this in DC, most people," said Lou Solsbury, U.S. Army Vietnam Veteran. "I did. I was lucky. But most people can't so to bring to them, it's still moving. It touched me again. I've seen it several times and each time it hits home."Â
For those veterans seeing their fellow comrades' names on that wall, they say it's a healing experience.
"I feel... it's a deep feeling," said Larry K. Dunn, Army Security Vietnam Veteran. "There's people that we've lost, but it's another day of remembrance."
"My heart goes into my throat it's hard because it brings me back to those years, and I miss them all," Solsbury said.
Some of these veterans say that they never got the proper welcome home when they returned from duty.
However, since then, they say they are finally getting the recognition they feel they deserved.
"It's like a forgiving thing, like the wall is," Dunn said. "So, we forgive people for treating us like that. It's okay, because now they say thank you and they recognize, and they won't do it to another generation. So, we made huge strides."
The memorial is planning to give them a proper welcome home.
On Sunday at 9:30 p.m. they are going to be doing a candlelight vigil and pinning for those vets.
The wall will be up until Tuesday morning, and the closing ceremony will be at 7 p.m. on Monday.
