Category: The Wall That Heals Rutherford County NC

Memorial Day is more than a long weekend or the unofficial start of summer. It is a day set aside to remember the more than 1.1 million brave men and women who gave their lives in service to this country so that we could live free – enjoying the many freedoms we hold dear and too often take for granted.

This year, Memorial Day feels especially personal.

Over the past year, I have had the privilege of working alongside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and an incredible committee committed to bringing The Wall That Heals to Rutherford County during Veterans Week 2026.

This November, the soccer fields at Isothermal Community College will be transformed into sacred ground – a place of remembrance, reflection, healing, and education for our entire community.

The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., bringing the impact and emotion of The Wall to communities across America.

Spindale, North Carolina was honored to be selected as one of only 31 host communities nationwide this year and the only stop in North Carolina. We also have the distinct honor of closing out VVMF’s national tour.

And right here in Rutherford County, we have 10 Hometown Heroes — The Rutherford 10 — whose names are forever memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a lasting reminder that freedom has always come at a cost.

They were part of this community, and they gave everything so that we could live free.

The Wall That Heals is more than a memorial — it also brings healing.  The Mobile Education Center and the In Memory Program, help ensure the brave men and women who served in Vietnam are never forgotten while helping future generations better understand the human cost of war.

As part of this experience, we will also offer guided educational tours for students, churches, and civic organizations, helping connect our community and future generations to the stories behind the 58,281 names forever memorialized on The Wall — reminding us that freedom is never free.

The Mobile Education Center helps tell the stories behind the names so future generations can understand that freedom is never free. One of those names belongs to Dan Bullock, the youngest service member on The Wall. He enlisted at just 14 years of age — killed in action in Vietnam on June 7th, 1969 — only 15 years old when he gave his life for his country.

Stories like his remind us that the names etched on The Wall are far more than names in granite. They were lives interrupted — birthdays never celebrated — dreams unfinished — futures forever changed.

They were sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, classmates, teammates, neighbors, and friends — ordinary people who once laughed, loved, dreamed and believed they still had a lifetime ahead of them. Young men and women with hopes, plans, and people waiting for them to come home.

That is why The Wall That Heals is so much more than a memorial. It is also about healing, education, and remembrance. While The Wall That Heals honors those who never made it home, the In Memory Program exists to honor Vietnam veterans who served in Vietnam, came home and later passed away.

Since the Vietnam War, nearly two million Vietnam veterans have passed away, yet only about 9,000 have been formally recognized through the In Memory Program. It is so important that we continue sharing this opportunity with families and friends so we can recognize and remember those who served, came home, and are no longer with us.

Bringing something this meaningful to our community takes all of us. It takes volunteers, supporters, and people willing to stand together and say…

These lives mattered.

These stories will live on.

When The Wall That Heals comes to Rutherford County November 12–15, 2026, come Volunteer. Stand before it. Find a name. Read a story. Remember a face.

Allow yourself to feel the weight, the sacrifice, and the humanity behind those 58,281 names.

Because every life mattered.
Every name tells a story.
And every story deserves to be remembered.

May we never forget.

For more information click here.

Lisa Marie Barrett, Military Ministry Director

The Wall That Heals Rutherford County, NC Committee, in partnership with our official host site, Isothermal Community College (ICC), and in collaboration with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, (VVMF) – the organization that founded the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982, will bring something sacred  to Rutherford County—The Wall That Heals, the official three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial commonly referred to as, The Wall, in Washington, D.C.

Accompanying the replica is the Mobile Education Unit, an interactive exhibit that connects the names on The Wall to the lives behind them – sharing personal stories, historical context, and the lasting impact of the Vietnam War on those who served and their families.

Watch 30-second video overview, click here.

The exhibit will be open 24 hours a day, beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, closing at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 15, offering continuous opportunity for reflection, remembrance, and healing.

As part of this powerful experience, our community will have the honor of hearing from a voice that reflects the lasting impact of The Wall That Heals, Cindy Stonebraker Reed, President/Founding Director of Mission POW-MIA.

Cindy’s connection to The Wall is deeply personal. Her father, Lt. Col. Kenneth A. Stonebraker’s aircraft was shot down near the Laotian border near Quang Binh Province, Vietnam on 10/28/1968. Cindy had just turned 6 when her father went missing. For Cindy, The Wall is the closest place she can go to visit her father, who is one of the 1,566 still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

Today, she carries that loss into purpose – traveling the country to ensure that those still missing, and the families who still wait, are never forgotten.

For many in our community, traveling hundreds of miles to Washington, D.C. is simply not possible. Bringing The Wall home ensures that every veteran, every family member, and every member of our community has the opportunity to stand before the names, make a connection, and experience this powerful tribute right here at home.

And for loved ones like Cindy, it becomes something even more profound – a place to visit, a place to remember, and the closest place she has to her father.

This is more than a memorial – it is a moment to remember, honor, and heal.

As we prepare to welcome The Wall That Heals, we are especially committed to sharing the mission of VVMF’s In Memory program, which honors Vietnam veterans who returned from the war, then later passed away. Since the war, nearly 1.8 million Vietnam veterans have passed, yet less than 8,000 have been formally recognized through this national program.

Bringing The Wall That Heals to Rutherford County allows us to help change that.

We invite families and friends to ensure their loved one’s service is recognized, not only during the time The Wall is here, but through a lasting online remembrance that can be visited from anywhere across the country for generations to come.

Because every name matters. Every story deserves to be remembered, and every veteran deserves to be honored.

This is how we bring healing home. This is how we say the words that should have been said decades ago, Welcome Home.

Why It Matters: The Wall That Heals allows our community to:

• • Honor the 58,281 brave service members who served with courage, but never returned home
  • Remember Rutherford County’s 10 Hometown Heroes whose names are etched in its panels
  • Share the stories behind the name through the Mobile Education Unit
  • Teach future generations about service, sacrifice, and the cost of freedom
  • Provide a sacred place for veterans and family members to reflect, remember and begin healing
  • Extend a long-overdue “Welcome Home“

The mission of The Wall That Heals Rutherford County, NC Committee is clear and deeply rooted in purpose: to honor our veterans with the dignity they deserve, to preserve and carry their legacies forward for future generation, and to provide a sacred place where healing can begin.

Moments Our Community Will Never Forget

• • When the escort arrives November 10 at approximately 1:00 p.m.
  • When a veteran finds the name of a fallen brother or sister on The Wall
  • When a loved one reaches out and touches a name
  • When, perhaps for the first time, someone whispers “Welcome Home”

The Wall That Heals Spindale, NC 2026

Click here to watch an overview: The Wall That Heals Visitor Experience

To make an online donation, click here or mail a check payable to Veterans Foundation of NC, to the following address:

The Wall That Heals Spindale, NC, PO Box 73, Spindale, NC 28160 or contact 828-351-4955.

Lisa Marie Barrett, Director and Co-Chair