Moving Vietnam Memorial Wall to stop in Lisbon this weekend

This weekend, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. will be on display at the Columbiana County Fairgrounds.

Hosted by the American Legion Post 131 in Leetonia, The Moving Wall will be in Lisbon from Friday, September 6, 2024, until Sunday, September 8, 2024.

Like its counterpart in the nation's capital, the wall is etched with the names of the more than 58,000 servicemen and women who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.

The weekend will begin with an opening ceremony and laying of roses at 6 p.m. Friday.

On Saturday, a parade will line up at 10:30 a.m. at the old courthouse in Lisbon and make its way to the fairgrounds, 225 Lee Avenue.  Prisoners of war, many of whom never returned home, will be remembered during a service at 6 p.m. Saturday.

A quilt presentation is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.

Sharon Cope proposed the parade to honor veterans who were never properly thanked for their service after being discharged from the military.

"It's always bothered me," said Cope. "I always felt they deserved more respect and especially the over 58,000 names who are on this wall. It's important to me...because two of my classmates are on that wall. And the last time I saw them was the day we graduated high school."

We talked to others who visited the memorial and shared their personal stories.

Jerry Madden, the last surviving of his four brothers who all served, walked us to where his brother Ernie's name is etched.

"They let me unload the panel with his name on it which was really nice," he said.

While Dorothy Stoffer has been to see the Moving Wall before, the emotions never waver.

"Well I remember the first time I came...we wanted to bring my husband's uncle who was very ill, he was in a nursing home," Stoffer said. "This was his son. He cried. It was horrible, but he was happy that we brought him."