Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica on display in El Reno
5 min read
THE MEMORIAL TODAY, A REPLICA OF THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL IS ON DISPLAY HERE AT FORT RENO. OKLAHOMANS ARE TRAVELING FROM ACROSS THE STATE TO PAY TRIBUTE TO LOVED ONES THEY HAVEN’T SEEN IN A LONG TIME. PRETTY SPECIAL AS THEY FIND THE NAMES OF THE RELATIVES. MAYBE IT’S THEIR GRANDFATHERS, MAYBE IT’S THEIR FATHERS, MAYBE IT’S THEIR UNCLE AND THEY CAN TOUCH THE NAME ON THIS WALL THAT THEY TOUCH THAT NAME. THAT MEANS SO MUCH. THE AMERICAN VETERANS TRAVELING TRIBUTE WALL STANDS EIGHT FEET TALL AND 360FT LONG. ON IT ARE THE 58,000 NAMES OF SERVICEMEN KILLED IN THE VIETNAM WAR, INCLUDING. 990 OKLAHOMANS. I HAVE SOME NEPHEWS THAT THEIR FATHER WAS ON THE WALL. SO SO IT’S A LITTLE CLOSE THROUGH SATURDAY. OKLAHOMANS CAN PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS OR HEROES. THEY’VE NEVER MET. TODAY, I’VE COME TO ACTUALLY CELEBRATE ROBERT KALSU. ROBERT KALSU HAD A FOOTBALL STADIUM NAMED AFTER HIM. DEL CITY. HE MADE THE ROSTER FOR THE BUFFALO BILLS. ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS SIGN THAT PIECE OF PAPER AND HE WOULD BE ON AN ARMY RESERVE UNIT. BOB KALSU REFUSED TO SIGN. T.J. IS A VIETNAM VETERAN FROM NORTH OKLAHOMA CITY. HE SPENT HOURS THURSDAY HONORING THOSE WHO NEVER MADE IT HOME. I ACTUALLY WORKED IN A HOSPITAL. I WAS REALLY LUCKY. AND THOSE GUYS, WHEN THEY’D COME IN AND THEY PUT THEM IN THOSE BEDS, I ALMOST CRIED BECAUSE I KNEW THAT WAS ME. I WAS JUST LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A JOB IN A HOSPITAL. FAMILIES VISITING THE MEMORIAL WALL CAN ALSO WATCH THE CALVARY COMPETITION UNDERWAY AT FORT RENO. U-S CAVALRY ASSOCIATION MAIN PURPOSE
Traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica on display in El Reno
Oklahomans have traveled across the state to pay tribute to loved ones.
Updated: 6:21 PM CDT Sep 28, 2023
A traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washinton, D.C., will be in Oklahoma until Saturday, giving Oklahomans the chance to honor the nation’s heroes. The replica is on display in El Reno, and Oklahomans have traveled across the state to pay tribute to loved ones. >> Download the KOCO 5 app“It’s pretty special. They find the names of their relatives — maybe it’s their grandfather. Maybe it’s their father, their uncle, and they can touch the name. To touch that name means so much,” said Bill Tempero, the president of the U.S. Calvary Association. The American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall stands eight feet tall and is 360 feet long. On it are the names of 58,000 servicemen who were killed in the Vietnam War, including 990 Oklahomans. “I have some nephews whose father is on the wall, so it hits close,” said Tempero. Through Saturday, Oklahomans can pay their respects to family members, friends or heroes they have never met. “Today, I’ve actually come to celebrate Robert Kalsu. He had a football stadium named after him in Del City,” said a Vietnam veteran named TJ. “He made the roster for the Buffalo Bills. All he had to do was sign that piece of paper, and he would be on an army reserve unit.”Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.TJ spent hours honoring those who never made it home. “I actually worked in a hospital. I was really lucky. When those guys came in and put them in those beds, I’d cry because that was me. I was just lucky enough to have a job in a hospital,” said TJ. Families visiting the memorial wall can also watch the calvary competition underway at Fort Reno. “The U.S. Calvary Association’s main goal, the main purpose, is to remember the people that have served and the horses that have served,” said Tempero. Top Headlines Oklahoma lawmaker looks to make it legal for guns to be allowed on fairgrounds Oklahoma sheriffs gather at Capitol to ask lawmakers for help with staffing shortages Edmond runner doesn’t let his cerebral palsy stop him from lacing up Convicted rapist, kidnapper arrested for stalking coworker in Oklahoma City
A traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washinton, D.C., will be in Oklahoma until Saturday, giving Oklahomans the chance to honor the nation’s heroes.
The replica is on display in El Reno, and Oklahomans have traveled across the state to pay tribute to loved ones.
“It’s pretty special. They find the names of their relatives — maybe it’s their grandfather. Maybe it’s their father, their uncle, and they can touch the name. To touch that name means so much,” said Bill Tempero, the president of the U.S. Calvary Association.
The American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall stands eight feet tall and is 360 feet long. On it are the names of 58,000 servicemen who were killed in the Vietnam War, including 990 Oklahomans.
“I have some nephews whose father is on the wall, so it hits close,” said Tempero.
Through Saturday, Oklahomans can pay their respects to family members, friends or heroes they have never met.
“Today, I’ve actually come to celebrate Robert Kalsu. He had a football stadium named after him in Del City,” said a Vietnam veteran named TJ. “He made the roster for the Buffalo Bills. All he had to do was sign that piece of paper, and he would be on an army reserve unit.”
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
TJ spent hours honoring those who never made it home.
“I actually worked in a hospital. I was really lucky. When those guys came in and put them in those beds, I’d cry because that was me. I was just lucky enough to have a job in a hospital,” said TJ.
Families visiting the memorial wall can also watch the calvary competition underway at Fort Reno.
“The U.S. Calvary Association’s main goal, the main purpose, is to remember the people that have served and the horses that have served,” said Tempero.
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