DMC Transportation Training Services Drove The Wall That Heals from Corpus Christi to its next stop in Laredo

U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Del Mar College trucking instructor Mark Vela transported exhibit using program rig with the help of Alvin Amador, fellow DMC trucking instructor

Article by: Richard Guerrero, Jr.

For those who have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., the emotional experience is simply unforgettable. But that experience requires a journey that not all Americans are willing or able to make.

To help share the healing influence of the memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund commissioned in 1996 the creation of a three-quarter scale replica that is designed to travel to communities all over the country.

The 2025 tour kicked off on March 6 in Sebring, Florida, and moved on to Kissimmee, Florida, where it opened on March 13. Corpus Christi was the fourth destination on the memorial’s tour itinerary; it was hosted locally at Veterans Memorial High School from March 27 to March 30. In total, the memorial replica will visit 30 communities this year.

The traveling exhibit honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who were killed in action or went missing in Vietnam. The exhibit consists of The Wall replica and the mobile Education Center.

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DMC faculty, staff and students lined up to watch The Wall That Heals exhibit depart from Windward Campus.

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Public Safety students participate in The Wall That Heals exhibit's departure from Windward Campus.

Del Mar College’s Transportation Training Services transported the memorial replica exhibit to its next destination – Laredo – on April 1. The entire DMC Public Service Department, including Police Academy and Fire Academy students, along with student veterans and other campus community members lined up the route leading off the Windward Campus to pay tribute to the memorial and see it off as it moved on to its next stop. DMC’s truck was also joined by dozens of law enforcement, motorcyclists, and other vehicles in a parade route that ran through the streets of Laredo.

The driver of the DMC truck was Mark Vela, DMC Transportation Training Services Instructor. He is a veteran of the US Marines Corps who served from 2009 to 2013. Fellow DMC trucking instructor Alvin Amador provided logistical support on the way to Laredo and drove the rig back to Windward Campus at the end of the day.

For more information about The Wall That Heals, visit www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/.

About Del Mar College

Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.