Decorated World War II veteran John Cruise fought for his country under Gen. George Patton with the 6th Armored Division in Southern France.

The Silver Star, The Bronze Star, The Combat Infantry Badge, Three Battle Stars and the Purple Heart are the badges of honor Cruise holds for his service; a service he says was accepted by him for the love of country and one he shares with others who have gone before and after him.

"(Each war) represents a different era in our country," Cruise said when asked about the history of armed conflicts and the need to honor the men and women who have fought in them. "It is appropriate to honor each. The important thing is that a guy gave his life whether he be in the Continental Army under George Washington or whether he is in Iraq."

Cruise is just one of the many war veterans planning to descend on the Edisto Memorial Gardens Thursday and through the weekend to reflect on the lives lost and sacrifices made in the Vietnam War as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund "The Wall That Heals" arrives.

The memorial is a 250-foot replica of the original in Washington, D.C., and will be on display from April 22 through April 25 adjacent to Centennial Park. The showings are free and open to the public.

"Vietnam is close to me because 57,000 people were killed in that war," Cruise said, noting that some Vietnam vets are affiliated with the Purple Heart Association, an organization he helped establish for Orangeburg County veterans. "It was controversial ... and there were many problems no American needed to face."

"I have discovered that so many people are still suffering from post-traumatic stress," he said. "When you think about it, they have reason to be. These guys never got any real estate. What a terrible thing."

Cruise, who had an opportunity to visit the actual wall in Washington about 20 years ago, described the experience as "like when you walk into the Alamo ... there is something like being on holy ground." The arrival of the traveling replica, Cruise says, may help to console some veterans who continue to suffer.

"It is therapy," Cruise said. "Talking about these things may help guys with post-traumatic stress."

Vietnam vet and Edisto High School teacher Tim Abell served for nine months in the 9th Infantry Division as a lieutenant platoon leader.

The wall's arrival here he sees as a "meaningful" event for the city and particularly for those who have not seen The Wall in person.

"I am glad to see it come to Orangeburg and am grateful that the vets who have not been able see it ... may find some comfort in it," Abell said. "One, it lets you know that you are not alone and that other people have paid a bigger price than you did ... it helps put things in perspective."

The opportunity to meet other soldiers who have served in Vietnam can also prove consoling, Abell said.

"You have some good memories and some bad. You have to face those memories," he said.

Branchville Vietnam veteran Glenn Dupuis said he has never had an opportunity to visit the memorial in Washington. He will not miss the opportunity this weekend.

"It is almost like a pilgrimage of sorts," Dupuis said, noting that all the stories he has heard from fellow war veterans have proven powerful. "They look at the wall as a healing place ... a place where you see real men crying all the time."

The wall's arrival to Orangeburg was initiated through the encouragement of Mayor Janet Joye and Cope Town Council.

The town's leadership approached Orangeburg City Administrator John Yow two years ago with its desire to participate in the program, on the stipulation that the city jointly pursue the idea.

An application was filed and was approved.

Both Orangeburg and Cope pledged $1,000 and an additional $500 toward the fund also was received. Approximately $3,500 to $4,000 of additional funds were raised through businesses and industries.

Sponsors of the traveling memorial include the city of Orangeburg, the town of Cope, Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association, Department of Public Utilities, Keith Hewitt State Farm Insurance, American Legion Post 4, the Dick Horne Foundation and Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce.

The S.C. Festival of Roses, which brings hundreds to thousands of visitors to the city each year, was seen as a prime time for the traveling replica to receive the wide-ranging exposure it deserves, Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller said.

"Obviously, the Vietnam War affected a lot of people," Miller said. "We thought it was a good addition (to the Rose Festival) and an opportunity for individuals to see the wall rather than go to Washington to see it. It is a big deal."

Miller expressed his personal excitement at being able to see the replica as he has heard much about it.

"From what I have heard at other places the wall has traveled, people leave memorials at the wall," he said. "I am anxious to see it myself."

The Orangeburg stop is the second in the state this spring. A wall showing was held in North Charleston the week prior and other showings are scheduled in Bellmawr, N.J., Rural Valley, Pa., Everett, Mass., and Lincoln, Neb.

"The schedule is set a year in advance," The Wall That Heals coordinator Sarah Preston said. "The past two sites have been pretty successful this year. Visitor numbers have been up and it could be because of the parallels recently drawn between Vietnam and Iraq."

Requests average about 25 a year and these numbers, Preston said, have remained pretty steady.

Since its dedication in 1996, "The Wall that Heals" has visited more than 100 cities and towns. It made its first-ever international journey in April 1999 to the Four Provinces to honor the Irish-born causalities of Vietnam and the Irish-Americans who served.

Each of The Wall replica's two wings is approximately 123 feet long and meet at an angle of 121 degrees, rising to a height of approximately 5 feet at the apex. Each name is laser-etched into panels of reflective black-powder-coated aluminum supported by a structural aluminum frame.

A database of names and their precise arrangement on The Wall had to be created to engrave the panels.

The list of names -- all 58,299 of them -- begins at the apex of the walls below the year of the first causality and continues to the end of that wing. It resumes at the beginning of the opposite wing, ending at the apex, above the date of the last death.

"There is a directory of names that the wall travels with. There is also a computer data base," Preston explained, noting that traditional name-rubbing opportunities do exist with the traveling replica.

"They don't come out quite as well ... because it is not granite and the names are not engraved as deep," she said. "But, you can still get a good name-rubbing."

In addition to The Wall, the showing will also include a traveling museum and information center that will provide wall visitors a historical overview of the Vietnam War and The Wall.

The Wall That Heals is one among many such traveling Vietnam replicas.

Currently, there are The Moving Wall, which was shown in Bamberg in September 2003, and Dignity Memorial, which sponsors the Vietnam Experience, a traveling replica that visits the nation's cemeteries and memorial parks. The American Veterans Traveling Tribute is a replica four-fifths the scale of the original wall.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund "The Wall That Heals"

Where: The Edisto Memorial Gardens adjacent to Centennial Park. Parking will be available on the upper parking lot and across the street in Chamber of Commerce parking lot.

What: A 250-foot replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., a traveling museum chronicling the Vietnam War era and an information center serves as a venue for people to learn about friends and loved ones lost in the war.

When: Thursday -- noon to 6 p.m., with an opening ceremony at 5 p.m.; Friday -- noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday -- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday noon to 6 p.m., with a closing ceremony at 5 p.m.

Cost: Free and open to the public.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551.

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