A group of veterans memorials housed at a recent exhibit at the Chillicothe VA are getting ready to make their trip to a new location. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall and four companion memorials will leave the VA this Wednesday.
Before heading to their new temporary location in Fairfield County for an exhibit, the memorials will make their way through Chillicothe, escorted through the city's downtown by members of the Ohio Patriot Guard Riders.
"The first one is the Traveling Vietnam Wall," said Chris Thacker with the Ohio Patriot Guard Riders. It's a 3/5 scale to the actual D.C. Memorial. It's 300 feet long and contains 58,318 names of the American casualties during the Vietnam War. The second wall is the 'Eyes of Freedom' which is the Lima Company Memorial, which represents 23 Marines that heard the call and gave their lives in 2005. It includes Chillicothe's own Aaron Reed who attended Southeastern. The third Memorial is the traveling Korean War Memorial which represents the 54,246 dead and the 81,077 missing. The fourth memorial is the World War II Memorial which they call the 'Wall of Freedom'. It represents the 407,316 dead and the 671,278 wounded. The fifth memorial is the Small Wars and Conflicts Memorial. It's a display of dog tags of American military casualties during the small wars and conflicts post Korean War to present day."
The memorial tour will leave the Chillicothe VA at 2:40 p.m. and will then make a loop around the downtown Chillicothe area along the following route:
Leave Chillicothe VA at 2:40 p.m. traveling S/B on St. Rt. 104
Enter the city on N. High St. and continue S/B to Main St.
Turn left (E/B) on Main St. to Paint St.
Turn left (N/B) on Paint St. to Water St.
Turn left (W/B) on Water St. to Yoctangee Pkwy.
Turn right (N/B) on Yoctangee Pkwy. passing the Chillicothe MS/HS campus.
Exit the city N/B on High St. and travel to Fairfield County.
Chillicothe Residents are encouraged to come out and line the streets to view and pay respect to the memorials as they travel through our area.