War memorial inspires
SUN PHOTO BY CLINTON BURTON cburton@sun-herald.com
The trailer carrying the Vietnam Traveling Wall memorial leads a processional of hundreds of veterans on motorcycles past Englewood Elementary School Wednesday morning. The memorial will be on display 24 hours a day through Monday.
SUN PHOTO BY CLINTON BURTON cburton@sun-herald.com
Hundreds of veterans joined the Vietnam Traveling Wall memorial Wednesday as it arrived in Englewood. The processional passed by Englewood Elementary School en route to Pioneer Park on Deerborn Street. Students cheered and waved American flags as the parade passed by the school.
SUN PHOTO BY CLINTON BURTON cburton@sun-herald.com
Englewood Elementary School students awaiting the arrival of the Vietnam Traveling Wall and its motorcycle escort.
SUN PHOTO BY CLINTON BURTON cburton@sun-herald.com
Scores of supporters lined Deerborn Street to welcome the memorial and show their support for veterans.
SUN PHOTO BY TAMI GARCIA, tgarcia@sun-herald.com
Dan Anter of the Port Charlotte VFW and American Legion was one of many who volunteered with the setup of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall Wednesday in Englewood.
SUN PHOTO BY TAMI GARCIA, tgarcia@sun-herald.com
North Port residents and members of Gulf Thunder of Port Charlotte Chapter motorcycle group, Scott Clark, foreground, and P. Purcell, background, volunteered to help assemble the Vietnam Memorial wall replica now on display at Pioneer Park on Dearborn Street in Englewood.
SUN PHOTO BY TAMI GARCIA, tgarcia@sun-herald.com
Englewood resident Bud Browning removes his glasses after shedding tears Wednesday at the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall at Pioneer Park on Dearborn Street in Englewood. Browning is Vietnam veteran who served in the Army. The wall will be on display until Monday.
SUN PHOTO BY TAMI GARCIA, tgarcia@sun-herald.com
Carl Fisher, left, security for the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in Englewood, and Englewood resident Dan Joslin, right, carry the first of many sections to connect to the support track system Wednesday at Pioneer Park.
SUN PHOTO BY TAMI GARCIA, tgarcia@sun-herald.com
Jim Matthews of North Port peruses the names on one of many display panels for the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, while Doug Lasswell, of North Port American Legion Post 254, background, assists with the installation of the replica.
ENGLEWOOD — The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, accompanied by hundreds of motorcycle-riding veterans, roared into Englewood Wednesday morning to the cheers of scores of people lined along the processional route.
The war memorial, inscribed with the names of the nearly 60,000 servicemen and women killed in the Vietnam War, was escorted to the Sarasota County line by Florida Highway Patrol officers, and Sarasota County deputies took it from there. Deputies on motorcycles rode in front of the processional, blocking intersections and ensuring an unobstructed route to Pioneer Park on Dearborn Street, where the wall will remain until Monday. The memorial and its escorts looped through town and past Englewood Elementary School en route to the park.
