Twice the charm … DMC Transportation Training Services delivered The Wall That Heals from Corpus Christi to next tour stop for second year in a row
Del Mar College trucking instructors Alvin Amador and Ralph Guerra transported exhibit using program rig to Ranger, Texas; not even steady rain could keep the hardiest members of the campus community from lining up in Trucking Yard to provide send-off
Article by Richard Guerrero, Jr.
For those who have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., the emotional intensity of the moment is simply unforgettable. The scene often consists of visitors rubbing an etched name onto paper, hands touching the letters of a loved one’s name or the sound of quiet sobs as visitors work through raw emotions brought to the surface by such a visceral experience.
Many Americans simply cannot make that journey, whether past or present, so to share the healing influence of the memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund commissioned in 1996 the creation of a three-quarter scale replica named The Wall That Heals, which is designed to travel to communities all over the country.
The traveling exhibit honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, bearing the names of the 58,281 men and women who were killed in action or went missing in Vietnam The exhibit includes The Wall replica and a mobile Education Center.
But to reach its different destinations each year, organizers need assistance to transport the exhibit from one community to another, including this year’s 31 community tour with two in Texas––Del Rio (April 16-19) and Ranger (April 23-26).
For a second year in a row, Del Mar College’s Transportation Training Servicers program took to the road, again, to transport the exhibit to Ranger on April 20. While steady rain affected plans to provide a send-off from the full campus community, a small group of DMC were on hand to send off the driving team. DMC Instructors and State Examiners Alvin Amador and Ralph Guerra left campus in a college rig with trailer in-tow for the roughly 385-mile trip to the small Eastland County community of about 2,300 residents, where they were greeted and participated in a parade on April 21. The exhibit opened to the public in Ranger on April 23.
Last year, Transportation Training Services faculty transported The Wall That Heals to Laredo after its visit in Corpus Christi at Veterans Memorial High School March 27-30.
Tim Tetz, Director of Outreach for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, said that since the dedication of the replica in 1996, the traveling exhibit has visited more than 800 communities in 49 states and three countries. Accordingly, the organization relies heavily on a network of colleges and trucking schools to transport the exhibit from point to point – many of which are repeat volunteer teams who offer their services free of charge.
The Wall That Heals is blessed to have transportation partners who return year after year. They have personally experienced the emotions evoked during the escort, and they realize that it’s not just another load being moved. We average 34 legs each season and having partners like Del Mar College to haul The Wall That Heals repeatedly eases my concerns in terms of the onboarding process for new companies and the uncertainty from those doing it for the first time.
Following The Wall That Heals time in Ranger, the exhibit will visit communities in Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Montana and Connecticut, to name a few. See the full schedule at www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/2026-The-Wall-That-Heals-Tour-Schedule/.
Additional information about The Wall That Heals is also online at www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/.
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