Big Bear Lake – Veterans and active members of America’s armed services travel great distances and make great sacrifices to preserve and protect freedom and liberty, how far will you travel to honor their contribution?
The American Veterans Traveling Tribute will visit Big Bear Lake from September 26-28, 2013 with the Cost of Freedom Tribute. The memorial will be open to the public for continuous viewing during that time. On Thursday, September 26, local students from Bear Valley Unified School District have the opportunity to visit the site and learn about the wall’s significance and history. Students from Big Bear High School will be visiting the wall from 8:30 – 9:30 a.m., Big Bear Elementary from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m., Baldwin Lane Elementary from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., North Shore Elementary from 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. and Big Bear Middle School from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Honor Our American Heroes by visiting the largest replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, on display at Meadow Park, 41220 Park Avenue in Big Bear Lake. A Grand Ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 28 at 10:00 a.m., with Keynote Speaker Col. Paul Cook (USMC Ret.), U.S. Congressman, in attendance. Directions, event parking and shuttle information can be found at citybigbearlake.com/thewall.
The mission of the project is to travel the nation to honor, respect, and remember men and women who served, and to pay specific tribute to those who gave all in that service. Since the tribute is mobile it allows people to honor and respect veterans and active military personnel without having to travel great distances to do so.
The AVTT presents several Cost of Freedom memorials and exhibits with its centerpiece being the Traveling Wall, an 80 percent scale version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. Across its 360-foot length the wall contains every single name etched on the original. At its apex the memorial is an impressive eight-feet tall. The Traveling Wall was completed in early 1998 and began traveling that year.
AVTT’s Traveling Wallis the largest Wall replica traveling the USA, and is not to be confused with several other replica Walls; The Moving Wall, The Dignity Wall, the Wall That Heals. These replica walls do a fine job, and we are all on a mutual mission.
The total “Cost of Freedom” exhibit includes:
The Traveling Wall – an 80% replica Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall (360ft long/8ft tall at apex) with flag display flown over the Wall (14 flags total)
190ft of additional stand up displays honoring all veterans and those serving today.
Displays include:Presidents with photo.
Ranks and Medals/Awards.
WWII timeline/ casualties by country/ pictorials
Korean War timeline and battle maps/ pictorials/Medal of Honor recipient lists
Vietnam War timelines
U.S. conflicts and casualties listing from 1980 to 2000- Operation Eagle Claw, El Salvador Civil War, the Invasion of Grenada , Marine barracks Bombing in Beirut, Operation El Dorado Canyon, USS Stark, Invasion of Panama, Desert Shield/ Desert Storm, Somalia, Khobar, Saudi Arabia, & USS Cole
9/11- Pentagon, Flight 93, Tower 1, & Tower 2 casualty listings
Global War on Terror- collection of individual engraved gold dog tags
Ft. Hood victim names and photos
Police & Firefighter Pictorials and casualties by state
FBI casualty listing.
Panels and statistics of WWI, Spanish American War, Korean War, Civil War-North & South, WWII, Desert Storm, War of 1812, Vietnam War, Mexican War, American Revolution, Cost of Freedom & U.S. Conflicts
Remembering, educating, and respect are the main focuses of AVTT. These special tributes and exhibits mean The AVTT is fully the American Veterans Traveling Tribute.
If interested in volunteering with the event, call (909) 866-4676. Monetary donations can be payable to: Marine Corps League, Big Bear Valley Detachment 1038, P.O. Box 6164, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315-6164, Reference Tax ID # 33-0461653 or for more info, (909) 866-4676. For more information or to schedule an AVTT event, visit www.avtt.orgor email Leah@avtt.org
About the AVTT:
The American Veterans Traveling Tribute is a veteran-owned project committed to travel the USA to honor, respect, and remember those who served, and pay specific tribute to those who gave all. AVTT is not a government sponsored or affiliated organization, but rather self-funded and contracted by the Texas Freedom Tribute (TFT), an IRS designated 501 C3 organization, to provide The Wall, crew, and expertise by means of charitable donations and support such as sponsorship fees, donations and the sale of merchandize.