EAST LIVERPOOL - They came from a variety of towns by a variety of conveyances, but their reason for coming was one and the same: to honor the vets.
As early as 7:30 a.m., the roar of motorcycles could be heard traveling toward Calcutta as bikers gathered to escort the Moving Wall to its resting place in Thompson Park.
About 100 riders, many members of the Rolling Thunder veterans' group, solemnly led the trailer hauling the packed-up pieces of the memorial to the park, where it was assembled almost reverently by a group of assorted volunteers.
Dressed in their leather chaps and vests to ward off the early morning cold, the riders included city Councilmen Bink Applegate and James Tennant and city firefighter Jeff Southall.
As the first piece was carried to the apex, onlookers stood quietly, only the clicking of scores of cameras to be heard as history was recorded again in the river city.
This was the second visit to the city for the memorial, which attracted tens of thousands of visitors when it reposed in the park during the Memorial Day weekend in 1994, glistening black panels proudly bearing its stark message for all to see.
Again this time, the community stepped up to the cause, headed by local veteran Ron Simmons, donating money and their time to bring the memorial back to town, prepare a place for it and set it up.
"It's all about our veterans," Mayor Jim Swoger said, as he watched the work progress, each shining black panel carried by two volunteers to its resting place.
"It's an honorable thing, and that's what it's going to be the whole time it's here," Swoger said.
He gave credit to Simmons for getting the ball rolling, saying, "This didn't just start this week; it started last year. The time he put into this was incredible. He was the driving force, but something of this magnitude can't be done alone. He contacted the veterans' groups, and every one of them jumped on board."
Simmons, who serves as president of the Veterans City Council, stood back for a moment, surveying the culmination of months of work, saying simply, "Whew. It's coming together like we hoped it would."
Saying he is "just thankful to see it back in the community," Simmons said the community had "come through."
Helping with Thursday's assembling of the wall was Michigan resident John Devitt, one of the founders of the memorial and a Vietnam veteran.
Saying he has worked the past 25 years bringing the wall to various communities, Devitt said it gets harder every year but only because he's older.
Standing quietly under a shade tree was Vietnam veteran Bob Dunn of East Palestine, who witnessed the death of three men whose names grace the wall.
"I have three shipmates on that (first panel). Two were killed instantly and one died later. I was standing about 20 feet away from them when it happened," Dunn said.
Their ship, the USS Goldsborough, took on shore battery, or gunfire from the shoreline.
Amy Fike brought her 4-year-old daughter, Layney, to witness history but also to honor her dad.
"I wanted to see it. My dad used to ride but he passed away two years ago. He'd have been here if he could," Fike said.
Wellsville resident Jim Redmond, a one-year member of Rolling Thunder, said, "I'm just here for the vets. I'm a vet; my brother was a vet."
Thursday's was the fourth escort Redmond has ridden on for the wall, saying one of those consisted of a line of motorcycles 8.5 miles long.
But it was the young volunteers, a group of teen-agers from East Liverpool High School that drew the interest of many veterans, happy to work alongside a generation who know of Vietnam only from history books.
The students, members of the Potters News Network, construction class and automotive class, scurried back and forth with framing for the wall and also taking video.
Teacher Jason Croxall said the PNN students were documenting the wall's assembly so it can be turned into a commemorative tape for the school and the community.
Several hours later, the memorial was in place and people had already begun to visit. It will remain in place through Tuesday when volunteers will again disassemble it for its move to New York.
