Traveling wall coming to Fostoria

FOSTORIA — Four days in late June are sure to prompt thought, emotion and conversation in Fostoria. An ongoing effort spearheaded by local resident David Stultz has landed the city on the schedule for the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. The three-fifths scale model of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., operated by the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard, in Melbourne, Florida, is scheduled to stand in the grassy area between H.L. Ford Drive and the south parking lot of Fostoria Junior/Senior High School from June 26 through 30. Just as with the actual memorial, the traveling wall bears the names of the 58,311 Americans killed or gone missing as a result of the Vietnam War. The model, which will face the school parking lot, measures about 300 feet from end to end and measures 6 feet tall at its center. "There are a lot of veterans in this area and people who do a lot of veterans activities," Stultz said. "A lot of people can't afford to go to Washington, D.C., so I just thought to bring here, to Fostoria, might be good for everybody. It could be good for the economy of the town, getting people to go to the local businesses and spend money and help everybody out and everybody a chance to, if they can't see the real thing, see a pretty good replica." Stultz said he put $1,000 down in late 2023 to reserve a spot for this year, during which the traveling wall will make 15 stops in 11 states between April and November. He said Earl Foust Post 73 of the American Legion in Fostoria and individuals have joined him in the effort to raise the total amount of about $10,000 to bring the wall to the city. He said family matters slowed fundraising for the project last year, but progress has since picked up. "In '24, I was doing some small fundraising," he said. "Recently, we've moved quite a bit forward. Now, we've gotten to the point where we've got the site set. My wife (Amy) got the addresses of all of the (Fostoria Area) Chamber of Commerce businesses, and we've got a bunch of letters ready to go out to solicit some more funds. We're about halfway there." Stultz noted that he received some donations on the spot when he entered the American Legion building after making arrangements for the wall, and Leonard Skonecki, a local historian and adjutant for the local Sons of the American Legion, assisted with the effort to obtain a $3,500 grant from the Greater Fostoria Community Foundation. "That really helped us jump-start our journey," Stultz said. Stultz said he's hoping for more people to volunteer when the traveling wall has reached Fostoria. Accompanying the wall will be displays honoring those who assisted in the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the Persian Gulf War. "We need, like, 20 people to set it up and then we're going to need people to guard the memorial at night, when nobody's around," he said. "It's a 24-hour thing where two people have to be there." He added that hopes are to have a veterans motorcycle escort for the wall as it makes its way through the city. Stultz said he got the idea to bring the wall to Fostoria after hearing about it being on display in a nearby location. He also takes pride in his family history of military service, which includes a great-great-grandfather fighting in the Civil War. "My dad was in the Army; actually, my dad's two brothers died in World War II," he said, noting that one of his uncles is the first name listed on the memorial structure at Fostoria's Memorial Stadium. "My daughter is currently in the Air Force, stationed in Germany. I, myself, did not serve. I graduated (from high school) right after Vietnam was over, and nobody wanted to do that, unfortunately. Looking back, I kind of wish I would have, but you can't change the past. "I'm a pretty patriotic person and I'm just wanting to do something to help the community out, so we can give some people at least a glimpse of what the wall looks like." Stultz said the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard is a 501(c)(3 nonprofit, so donations to it to assist in bringing the traveling wall to Fostoria are tax deductible. More information is available online at www.travelingwall.us, by calling the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard at 321-652-4145 or by calling Stultz at 419-957-3284.