American Veterans Travelling Tribute Vietnam Wall ~ Palm Springs Air Museum

The Palm Springs Air Museum is a long established museum which houses aircraft some of which are associated with WW11.  We’ve known it would be interesting to visit but the opportunity was not to be missed when the American Veterans Travelling Tribute (AVTT) Vietnam Wall was making a stop at the Air Museum.

Palm Springs Air Museum

The Palm Springs Air Museum is the home of one of the largest collections of flyable WW11 aircraft, some of them on display outside as well as three large hangars that house several more.  They were host to the AVTT Vietnam Wall when it was displayed behind the hangars on a visit to Palm Springs, CA.

American Veterans Travelling Tribute Vietnam Wall

The mission of the AVTT is to bring the community together to Honor, Respect and Remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  The wall is 80% size of the original one that sits at Washington, DC.  This travelling one is 360’x 8’ at the apex and has a total of 58,263 names dating from 1955 to 1975.  The names are listed on the date they were wounded or missing, then alphabetically on that date.

Flags fly over the Vietnam Wall

The Memorial Wall in Washington, DC was designed by Maya Lin. This was completed by November 1, 1982 and is now part of an area called the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and dedicated to those who fought in the war.  This was accepted by the President of the United States on November 10, 1984.  It replica appears to have been travelling since 2010 although I wasn’t able to confirm that as the beginning of its travels.

Represents the American soldier

This story of war is never easy and the ages of these young men and women who lost their lives fighting the Vietnam war was a heartbreaker to read.  The largest age group was 18 years of age at 33,103.  They were only kids.  Over 50,000 of them were aged 17-29 with majority 18-26 years old.  997 of them died on their first day there.  1448 died on their last day of duty before they were to go home.  31 sets of brothers died fighting this war.

Travel trailer for the travelling Vietnam wall

The AVTT  Tribute Wall is transported within a trailer on cross country travels.  Costs are self funded with merchandise sales, donations and sponsorship fees that cover expenses for providing the Wall, crew that transports and displaying the Wall for us to see.

Inside the Palm Springs Air Museum

The Palm Springs Air Museum offers so much to see for anyone who may have an interest in war memorabilia.  It is the home of one of the largest collections of flyable WW11 aircraft, some of them on display outside as well as three large hangars that house several more.  There is a library with shelves of 8500 books to read as well as several computers with flight simulators for the young and old to play with.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The City of Desert Hot Springs and the Community and Cultural Affairs Commission brought donations of supplies and funds together with local artist Dan Sarberg and now have “Project Fallen Hero – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” which honors fallen soldiers from all wars.

"Flying Boxcar"

 This “Flying Boxcar” is a Fairchild C-119-G and is part of the Korean War Commemorative Exhibit.  This war was fought 1950-1953 and the instruments are a reflection of that era.  We were able to enter the small cockpit and have a good look at it and marvel at the bare bones on the body of the aircraft.

Palm Springs Air Museum

The AVTT Vietnam Wall was what brought us to the Palm Springs Air Museum but there are several reasons why anyone with an interest in aircrafts would want to visit this amazing museum, there is so much to see.  Veterans make up the majority of volunteers at the museum and are more than willing to share the history.  For more information or planning a tour on your visit to the museum, click here.