GUILFORD, Maine — A total of 58,287 names cover the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., each belonging to someone who sacrificed their life for our nation.
As manager of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, Doc Russo points out that many Americans never get the opportunity to travel to the memorial to pay their respects.
"A lot of people can't make it to Washington and that's why we started traveling with it, so that they can come out here and visit their friends and family that are on the wall," Russo said.
Russo and the traveling replica of the memorial made their way out to Guilford earlier in the week, and since then, Mainers from all over have been traveling to it in hopes of finding their loved one's names on the wall.
Or, in the case of Vietnam veteran Bob Lee, three friends he served with.
"Leon Treadwell was the operations officer for the 1st Engineer Battalion, Rodney Smith was the executive officer for the battalion, and Colonel Kiernan was the battalion commander and the division engineer of the 1st Division. Brilliant guys, great soldiers," Lee said.
While thinking about his old friends and remembering the traumatic events he endured during his service, he said the importance of memorials like these is immeasurable.
"I think it's important for people to look at it and see how many soldiers died. You can say a number like 50,000 but when you look at all those names you know they were all somebody's son or somebody's daughter," Lee said.
Volunteers like Barbara Skinner have been helping others find their loved ones and learn more about the people behind the names.
"To hear them say, 'Oh that's so-and-so but they'll use the nickname, the nickname they had in the service, it just makes you so happy,'" Skinner said.
With the help of an app on her phone, she has also been able to show visitors pictures of those they came to see.
Volunteers are also working to ensure that disabled veterans and anyone with mobility issues are able to pay their respects.
"We have a golf cart that was donated by the local golf course, and we have folks that can help walk with people to get them here. Many of the folks interested in seeing this wall have those mobility issues and we're here to make that barrier go away," volunteer John Simko said.
A closing ceremony will take place on Saturday, July 6, to commemorate the wall's time in Guilford.