By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

The Vietnam Moving Wall, which will pay a week-long visit to the field at Goffstown High School in July, was not just given its name for being mobile.

Goffstown Library Director Dianne Hathaway and library assistant Sandy Whipple, who have coordinated the wall's visit to Goffstown, said the project is deeply meaningful to a number of area families, veterans and residents, themselves included.

"We are emotionally invested," said Hathaway. "When you take something like this on, you have to go in praying that you rally the community and people outside of it. We were so fortunate we've had the support we have gotten from the community."

The wall will arrive in Goffstown on the morning of Saturday, July 9, and an opening ceremony will take place that day at 4 p.m. A concert, featuring the music of Carol Noonan, will begin at 5 p.m., and then a wreath-laying, prayers, a dedication and comments will follow.

Hathaway and Whipple said an uninterrupted 72-hour reading of the 58,244 American casualties of the Vietnam War will commence at 6 p.m. that evening.

They said they are still looking for volunteers to read names at a variety of times during the day and night. Each volunteer will read 270 names, which takes an estimated 20 minutes. Volunteers will also act as security for the wall during its weeklong stay.

Hathaway said the reading will likely end on Tuesday, July 12, at 6 p.m., but will continue as long as it takes to complete.

"We will take longer (than 72 hours) if there is any glitch, until we are done," she said. "Once we have started, this is something we are not going to leave undone."

Whipple said a number of people have asked to read at specific times for personal reasons.

"A couple of people have asked to read the names of friends or family members," she said. "We are trying to accomodate, though we are dealing with an imperfect scenario. We have blocked off 20-minute increments, but cannot account for people who can't make it or get there on time."

Whipple said a great crosssection of the Goffstown community, as well as residents from other local towns have asked to take part in the event, including Girl Scout troops, families of fallen soldiers, students, pastors, reservists and representatives from Manchester's Liberty House.

The Vietnam Moving Wall was founded by veteran John Devitt, who attended the dedication of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. He decided that the wall should be shared with people around the nation and created a mobile wall in 1984.

The Moving Wall has visited about 1,000 towns in the United States, including four towns in New Hampshire . Concord, Rochester, Meredith and now Goffstown, as well as made trips to Puerto Rico and Guam. Later in the summer, Meredith will receive its second visit from the wall.

Devitt travels with the wall and will be in town from July 9 to 16, when the wall rests at the field at Goffstown High School.

The Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd. has helped to maintain the wall, which is half the size of the D.C.-based monument. The wall is in a "V" shape and is made up of two 126.5-foot pieces that stand 6 feet high. The wall is aluminum with a super polyurethane-type covering, said Whipple.

A candlelight vigil will take place on Wednesday, July 13, at 8 p.m., which will feature more than 1,000 candles. The event will include a moment of silence for fallen soldiers, a guided litany and candle-lighting and 1960s-era music. Muchachos Senior Drum and Bugle Corps will not only play "Taps" for the vigil, but on every night the wall is in town.

The closing ceremony for the wall will take place on Saturday, July 15, at 8 p.m., at which Pastor Charlie Ford, of the Goffstown Congregational Church, will give a send-off prayer.

Hathaway said she has talked to veterans from all over the state who are interested in visiting the wall. Whipple said others might not visit the monument, but will send volunteers to assist.

"Some people are still dealing with their pain and may not attend," she said. "However, some of them said they will send volunteers and make sure we get everything we need."

Whipple said the reading will likely be a very emotional event.

"I think the name reading makes this project very personal because each name represents a human being," she said.