Fostoria proud to host military exhibits

FOSTORIA — Fostoria is swelling with pride this weekend.The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall and Eyes of Freedom Gulf War memorial made their way into the city on Thursday and both will remain in the south parking lot of Fostoria Junior/Senior High School until Monday morning.An opening ceremony, which mostly took place in the school's Wainwright Performance Arts Center due to the high temperatures outdoors, was attended by many area veterans and others, and people continued to visit into the night.The exhibits will be available to visitors around the clock until deconstruction begins at 9 a.m., Monday.The procession into Fostoria from Findlay attracted an estimated 90 motorcycle riders and drew residents to the roadsides to watch."I just want to thank everybody for showing up and supporting us," said Fostoria resident David Stultz, who organized the project of bringing the wall to Fostoria. "The bikers were an awesome sight, with the motorcade. I was riding with the chief of police (Gabe Wedge), leading the way in, and it was awesome to see the people along the route, waving flags and cheering everybody on."And once we got here, all the help — everybody pitched and got everything all put up. I think it's a beautiful sight. It's very impressive. I just hope everyone can come out and look everything over. I'm really impressed with the sight of it."A fundraising campaign not only raised enough money to bring the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Traveling Wall and the Eyes of Freedom to Fostoria, but also cash for the Seneca County Honor Bus to periodically take area veterans to see the military tributes and other sights in Washington, D.C.The traveling wall is three-fifths the size of the actual wall in Washington, which stands about 10 feet tall at its apex and stretches more than 400 feet in length. More than 58,000 names of Americans who died or went missing during the Vietnam Wall are etched in black granite on the wall, which was dedicated on Veterans Day in 1982.The wall is the most-visited monument on the National Mall, with about five million people seeing it per year."I think it's tremendous," Fostoria Mayor Don Mennel said of having the traveling wall in the city. "It's an honor for the city to host it. It's a tribute to a part of history that was very difficult for this country and we all need to remember it and honor those who served."The traveling wall is in Fostoria in the 50th anniversary year of the end of the Vietnam War, which began in 1955 and was a type of proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The United States' involvement in defending the government of South Vietnam was not popular among many Americans, Mennel noted, with protests, marches and sit-ins taking place, particularly in large cities and college towns."An awful lot of (troops) came home and they weren't treated properly and they never talked about their service, and they didn't want to talk about it," Mennel said. "It was very difficult for them. It was a very difficult war and a very difficult time in America."Thursday afternoon's opening ceremony included no shortage of appreciation.Veterans rose and received applause while the Fostoria Community Band played a medley of the U.S. service branches' theme songs. Speakers included Mennel, retired U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Stephen Kosinski, of Toledo, and Seneca County Commissioner Bill Frankart, who said to veterans: "Today, we honor you. We honor your sacrifice. We pour out our gratitude to you and recognize your bravery and the dignity of your service."Along with a selection of patriotic songs played by the Fostoria Community Band, Matt Hart of the Black Swamp Pipes and Drums performed "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes.The ceremony concluded outdoors with a 21-gun salute fired by the Fostoria United Veterans Color Guard and the playing of "Taps" by trumpet player Dr. Thomas Guernsey of the community band.Stultz said the ceremony went off without a hitch despite no rehearsal taking place beforehand."I thought it was amazing," he said.Stultz said the location of names on the wall can be done onsite and volunteer assistance is needed through the weekend to help visitors find those names.Stultz added that volunteer help is also needed to deconstruct the wall on Monday morning and load it into its trailer. The wall's next stop will be Kulpmont, Pennsylvania, where it will be stay from July 3 through 7.