The City of Coral Springs and the Coral Springs Veterans Coalition worked to bring The Moving Wall, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Traveling Half-Size Replica to Cora Springs Sportsplex Park on May 5,6,7.
During a ceremony on the afternoon of May 6, Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook expressed a strong thank you to the many Vietnam veterans who were not treated well after returning to the U.S. from the War. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Welcome home. It is important that we show support for the veterans of the Vietnam War,” he said. “If you want a hug, I will give you one.”
Brook, a strong advocate for mental health care encouraged military veterans who may want mental health care to receive it. He encouraged them realized that it is not a sign of weakness to receive care. Most of the Coral Springs Commission and City leaders attended the ceremony. Broward County Mayor Lamar Fisher and Broward Commissioner Michael Udine participated in the ceremony. Many older Vietnam veterans and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also attended.
The Moving Wall visited Coral Springs in 2015 and the Veteran Coalition an organization that includes many Vietnam veterans worked to bring it back again in 2015.
During the weekend, many military veterans viewed the wall and searched for the names of former comrades in arms.
Colonel Connie Christensen, a former member of the Women’s Army Corps and an accomplished military nursed spoke and described some of the challenges she faced in caring for severely injured soldiers during the war.
Major General Bernard Loeffke spoke. He served in Vietnam and retired as a Major General in the U.S. Army. He experienced combat and the horrors of the war. After his military career, he become a Physician’s Assistant. Loeffke described losing colleagues and people he cared about to combat. After his military career, he was worked to end warfare. A Huey helicopter flew over the ceremony.
Many of the people who came to the Memorial studied the Wall and looked for the names of friends and family members. The Wall is a stark reminder of the realities of warfare. There are more than 58,200 names on the Wall
