This morning, the Vietnam Moving Wall will be taken to the Eighth Street Middle School track and assembled, and opening ceremonies for the exhibit are planned at 5:30 this afternoon.

The wall, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was built by Vietnam veterans and first went on display in 1984. John Devitt, an Army veteran who first thought of building a replica and raised the money to make it a reality, said he wanted to give veterans around the country a way to see the memorial even if they weren't able to travel to Washington.

Two copies of the wall travel the United States from April to November, spending about a week at each site.

Its visit to Tifton has been planned and organized by the Eighth Street Middle School History Club and its advisor, Susan Tucker. Local groups have been working on this project since last February, and hundreds of Tift Countians are involved. Local volunteers donated the money to bring the wall here, placed American flags all along the wall's route to the Eighth Street track and are manning an exhibit at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage.

Others will stand by to counsel wall visitors, prepare a meal or assist with various ceremonies during the five days the wall will be here.

A remembrance ceremony and recognition of Gold Star families will be held at noon Saturday; the closing ceremony, including a Marine Color Guard from Albany, a flyover from Moody Air Force Base and a 21-gun salute, will be at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

Tucker says Tifton is the only site in Georgia that will host the wall this year. We are proud to take this opportunity to solemnly recognize and thank the nine men from Tift County who died in Vietnam: Harold B. “Pinky” Durham, Franklin Thomas Collins, Robert Lee Dykes Jr., Hulus Edgar Key Jr., Harold Ray Tyson, Delma Ernest Dickens, George Thomas Spillers, Thomas Randolph Owens and Joseph Ray Wynn Jr.

We are also proud of our community's efforts to make this visit a success and to show respect for all South Georgia veterans — and we hope to see a good turnout at all of the events. They are a reminder that freedom isn't free and that we should continue to honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their country.