O&R Volunteers Pitch in to Assemble the Wall That Heals in Middletown
Vietnam Memorial Replica and Education Center Visit Through Sunday
Orange & Rockland (O&R) employees volunteered yesterday to help assemble The Wall That Heals to Middletown, N.Y. This traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica and Mobile Education Center will be visiting the city now through Sunday, September 18.
Featuring a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., The Wall That Heals exhibit travels the nation to honor the over 3 million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who perished in that war.
Among the 10 O&R employee volunteers assembling the replica of The Wall are: on the left side, Christopher McCallum, left, and Ken McTighe, right/foreground. On The Wall’s right side are Eric Bianchi, left, and Joe Nash, right/foreground.
The Wall’s visit is hosted by the Knights of Columbus Saint Titus Brandsma Council #16519 of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Middletown. During its stay in Middletown, The Wall That Heals will be headquartered on the church’s grounds at 90 Euclid Ave.
The exhibit will be opened to the public 24-hours a day, free of charge. The official site opening ceremonies are at 7 p.m. today. Exhibit closing ceremonies will be held Sunday, September 18 at 1:30 p.m. For more information about The Wall and these events go to https://www.twth2020.org/.
The Wall That Heals replica is 375 feet long and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the center/apex, a key feature of The Wall in Washington, D.C.
Like the original memorial, The Wall That Heals is erected in a chevron-shape and visitors can do name rubbings of individual service names on The Wall. The replica is constructed of Avonite, a synthetic granite, and its 140 numbered panels are supported by an aluminum frame. Machine engraving of the more than 58,000 names along with modern LED lighting provide readability of The Wall, day and night.
About O&R
Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, is a regulated utility. O&R provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in southeastern New York State (where its franchise name is Orange & Rockland) and northern New Jersey (where it’s Rockland Electric Company) and natural gas service to approximately 130,000 customers in New York.