Wall Replica Attracts Many Visitors   

Story and photos by Lee Burnett

The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., drew a steady stream of visitors as soon as it opened along Route 109 across from Walmart on Thursday. Among the visitors was Wayne Hutchins of Sanford, who found the name of his childhood friend Richard Glaude. Hutchins said that Glaude enlisted in the Marines and was killed in 1967, just four days after his 19^th birthday. “We grew up together,” he said. Glaude was one of eight Sanford casualties of the war whose names are etched into the wall. 

The replica wall has been open to visitors 24 hours a day and will remain until mid-day on Sunday. Volunteers are on hand to help people find names. Visitors may make rubbings of names on the Wall. Admission is free and donations are accepted. The wall has been displayed in more than 700 communities around the country since veterans’ groups created it in 1996.