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Today was the opening ceremony for The Wall That Heals . The ceremony started at 10am and the wall will be town for four days. The weather was exceptionally frigid and barely reached forty degrees. The turnout still ended up being standing room only.

What is The Wall That Heals?

The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall located in Washington D.C. The wall has the names of all 58,318 members of the American military killed in the Vietnam War. It is designed to travel around the United States and allow veterans, families, and friends to visit the wall surrounded by the comfort of their community. It also gives veterans the opportunity to visit the wall, who may not otherwise have the chance to get to Washington.

The kickoff ceremony started in a tent that I was very thankful someone graciously provided because (as I wrote before), the weather was a balmy 40 degrees.

First was the posting of the colors by the Fort Bragg Color Guard, the pledge of allegiance, and the National Anthem sung by Aaron Tippin's wife, Thia. The crowd joined in the singing of the National Anthem and it was a very touching moment.

Next, was the Invocation

The Mayor of Cookeville spoke about the importance of standing with our military veterans using the ACRONYM S.T.A.N.D.

Many-Bears Grinder, Tennessee Veterans Affairs Commissioner and combat veteran, spoke. She was very passionate and vocal about the mistreatment of Vietnam Veterans upon returning home and the speech brought a tear to my eye once or twice. There was a little recording snafu but I was able to catch most of it.

This is part two of Many Bears Grinder speaking. It is the reading of the names of the Vietnam Veterans from the Putnam County area that lost their lives during the Vietnam War. and recognition of the Gold Star Families in attendance.

Aaron Tippin sung "Where The Stars And Stripes And The Eagle Flies".He is always doing acts of service for the Veterans.

Afterward, there was a wreath-laying ceremony. I caught part of it, but the children had to use the restroom after the ceremony...Well, and my son wanted to see the M16 A4 that the Honor Guard was carrying. The female specialist was kind enough to even slide the bolt forward in the carrier and the loud noise of the bolt resting in place really impressed my son.

The part I didn't miss is all the Vietnam Veterans in attendance gathering for a photoshoot. These moments are really special. All of the WWI vets are passed on and it will be in my lifetime that this first hand account of history will be gone too.