- How does a community come together to create a solemn memorial to its war heroes? How does it build a place where the community can gather to remember the sacrifices made by so many to secure our freedoms and security. The Johns Creek Veterans Memorial Walk is just such a treasure. Located in the northwest corner of Newtown Park, off of Old Alabama Road in Johns Creek, it is the 2nd largest privately funded war memorial in the U.S., and it has a permanent ½ scale replica of the Wall That Heals, the memorial to the 58,281 killed or missing from the Vietnam War.
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Traveling Wall That Heals at Johns Creek’s Newtown Park
George Yourick: “…In 2016 (I have to find the date, the Joseph T O’Callahan Assembly held an Appreciation Dinner for 117 Vietnam Era Veterans and their spouses. The JCVA Honor Guard opened the event. Certificates of Honor were issued by the State of Georgia Veterans Department and some special awards took place. The KOC procured, cooked and served nearly 250 people in Corbett Hall.
At the conclusion of the awards, I spoke to the Veterans and Knights. It was my goal to bring in the Traveling Vietnam Wall before the end of my tenure as Faithful Navigator by June 30, 2017. That goal was a complete surprise to my membership and most in the room did not know what the Traveling Wall was.
Over the following months, we formed a team to research and apply for the Wall. Separately, we began fund raising while we did not know the cost until the award was received, we raised over $7,000. The award, while applied for, came as a surprise and we had to find a site to show them for a pre-visit review by the Wall Committee. So, we went to the City and they were so excited, they said they would provide the site and if we agree will pay the cost of the project. Our cash raised went into the JCVA account…”
- Effort to secure permanent wall
- City of Johns Creek Commissions Effort
- Community Layout, Labor, effort to build
- This is a solemn memorial, a location for the community to meet, remember, heal,
