Mike Lehto, commander of American Legion Post 62 of St. Ignace, speaks during the opening ceremony of the Vietnam "Moving Wall" Veterans Memorial. During his speech Mr. Lehto spoke of the power of the wall and the impact it has on those who view it. Behind him are tribal representative Keith Massaway (left) and Chief Warrant Officer Eric Zinnkosko. "It's hard to, in front of this wall, say anything," Richard "Duke" Mayo, a member of Chapter 274 Vietnam Veterans of America, said during the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Veterans Moving Wall Memorial in St. Ignace, amid a downpour of rain.

Mr. Mayo, overcome with emotion, struggled to find the words to express his feelings about the wall's appearance at Kewadin Casino. As he introduced speakers throughout the ceremony, he succinctly summed up his feelings with a single line.

"The price of freedom is written on the wall," he said.

As rain cascaded upon the visitors and veterans gathered for the opening ceremony, everyone solemnly endured under umbrellas, tents, or what little protection their hats provided as the speakers described their feelings and experiences at the memorial.

As rain pours down on the ceremony, visitors, veterans, and the Color Guard stand their ground and listen to the various speakers welcoming the Vietnam Wall memorial to St. Ignace. Speakers included Mike Lehto, commander of the American Legion Post of St. Ignace, St. Ignace Mayor Paul Grondin, Chief Warrant Officer Eric Zinnkosko of the Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay, Bud Biron of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Congressman Bart Stupak's congressional aide Roger Srigley, Chaplain Charles Koenemann of the New Bridge Community Chaplaincy of Sault Ste. Marie, and Keith Massaway and Patrick Rickley of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Board of Directors, and Tony Goetz, chief operating officer for Kewadin Casinos.

Above: Visitors quietly approach the Moving Wall following the opening ceremony. Many stared in awe at the wall, taking in the number of soldiers who died during the war and searching for the names of those they knew. CWO Eric Zinnkosko said he was too young to have been involved in the Vietnam War, but related a story about his uncle, Chuck Ryder, whom he interviewed for a school project.

Mr. Ryder became a lawyer after his war service, but he was in medical school when he was drafted and served in Vietnam as a medic. He was shot in both knees and was told he would never walk again.

Seven years later, after multiple treatments, his uncle was out of his wheelchair and running marathons.

CWO Zinnkosko stressed the importance of honoring Vietnam veterans.

"Teach your children...get them involved with local communities and veteran groups. We cannot let the next generation forget these men," he said.

The "deuce and a half" M35 truck rested near the Vietnam Moving Wall, provided by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 274. The truck was present at the memorial to further honor those who died in Vietnam, Richard Mayo of Chapter 274 said. Mr. Biron conducted a traditional tribal prayer during the ceremony and offered a comment on the significance of the rainy weather.

"When it rains, a great healing is coming," he said.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, veterans and visitors slowly approached the wall. Some marched up and down the length of the structure, silently observing it . Others gently touched several of the approximately 58,000 names of fallen soldiers, their reflected images gazing back at them.

"It's kind of like going to the funeral you missed for your friends," said Russ Landosky, a Vietnam veteran.

A small table honoring prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action was set near the wall. Every aspect of the table was symbolic, from the white tablecloth symbolizing "the purity of [the veterans'] intentions to respond to their county's call to arms" to a slice of lemon on the plate "to remind us of their bitter fate." A brochure explained the table's symbolism. Lou Esselman of Kentucky was visiting Hessel when he heard about the moving wall. He traveled to St. Ignace to experience it.

Mr. Mayo spoke with a few people following the ceremony. He also related his experiences about the wall. The first time he saw it, he said, he was unable to approach it.

As he has gotten older, he has come to better understand his father, who was in World War II and the Korean War. His experiences in Vietnam brought him closer to his father, as well as understanding what he went through emotionally as a veteran.

Local veterans groups hosted the display of the Vietnam War memorial, a representation of the one in Washington, D.C., from Thursday, August 20, through Monday, August 24. It was brought to St. Ignace through the efforts the Sault Tribe board of directors, at the suggestion of Ed Cook, a tribal elder and veteran, and facilitated by the casino's marketing and entertainment departments.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. was built in 1982 and designed by Maya Lin. The granite wall is 246 feet long.

The half-sized moving wall memorial replica was imagined by John Devitt in 1982 and built in 1984 by Mr. Devitt, Norris Shears, Gerry Haver, and other Vietnam veterans. It was first show in Tyler, Texas, and then taken across the nation.