Oregon Memorial Traveling Wall comes to Bend

For the first weekend of August, the Deschutes Pioneer Association and the Deschutes County Historical Society is hosting the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Traveling Memorial for display to the public. The event is a poignant reminder of the effects of war, especially for veterans and their loved ones.

The Oregon Memorial Traveling Wall was created by the Umpqua Valley Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America. The wall is a smaller-scale version of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Bill Olsen, who helped bring the wall to Bend as a part of the Deschutes Pioneer Association, is also a Vietnam War veteran himself. He said the wall represents not only veterans who were killed in Vietnam, but all who lost their lives to war.

“War is not a fun thing, and I think people need to be aware of that,” Olsen said Saturday. “I think it’s important we bring this out and let the community see this as a remembrance that people do die real deaths because of war and crazy politics.”

The wall consists of six panels altogether. The center panels list those Oregonians killed in the Vietnam War and on the U.S.S. Pueblo in 1968. The side panels list the names of those who died in Panama, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom.

The exhibit will be on display again at the Bend museum on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.