Palmerton Borough's park, normally ringing with the sound of excited children running and playing, will transform into a solemn place of remembrance for the next four days.

Volunteers were busy Tuesday morning preparing the grounds for Thursday morning's installation of "The Moving Wall," a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.Lang's Landscaping employees and Palmerton United Veterans Organization members spread mulch and planted shrubs near where the wall will be on display.Several hundred feet away, more volunteers were setting up tents."It's coming together nicely," said Steve Vlossak, a UVO member who was instrumental in bringing the wall to Palmerton. "The community is very excited and we're getting calls from veterans who are coming from other states. The wall is highly sought after and we are very fortunate that there was an opening in the schedule this summer."A Vietnam War veteran himself, Vlossak has made getting the wall to his hometown a longtime goal.The 252-foot-long and 5-foot-tall moving wall has the names of more than 58,000 who died during the Vietnam War.There are a total of 148 panels, 74 on each side of the apex. The names are arranged chronologically by date of casualty.John Devitt and a number of other Vietnam veteran volunteers built The Moving Wall after attending the 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It went on display for the first time in Tyler, Texas, in October 1984.The wall is managed by the Vietnam Combat Veterans based in Michigan.Flanked by a police and firetruck escort, it will arrive in the park, along Delaware Avenue, from Michigan on Thursday around 8 a.m. and will be on display and accessible to the public at no cost until Monday at noon.A number of special events are scheduled while the wall is in town, starting with an opening ceremony at 7 p.m. Thursday with Vlossak as the featured speaker.Dignitaries scheduled to speak are Palmerton Mayor Chris Olivia, Carbon County Commissioners Wayne Nothstein and Tom J. Gerhard, state Rep. Doyle Heffley and Carbon County Director of Veterans Affairs Henry Desrosiers.The Vietnam Veterans of Carbon County will hold a service Friday at 6 p.m. with Harry J. Wynn III as featured speaker.A wreath laying and candlelight ceremony is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.UVO member Bill Gallagher will be the featured speaker."That is a very special night as we have 11 of the 18 families of the individuals whose names are on the wall scheduled to attend," Vlossak said.Nine of the men were born in Carbon County and grew up elsewhere, and nine were born and raised locally. Two of the soldiers are classified as missing in action.The men are: Lance Cpl. Dennis R. Andrew, Pfc. David R. Bartholomew, Pfc. Edward N. Beers, Airman 2nd Class George M. Bevich Jr., Spc. Neal G. Bollinger, Lance Cpl. Ronald S.H. Christman, Pfc. John R. Earley, Spc. Leon D. Eckhart, Col. Anthony R. Giannangeli, Pfc. Merlin C. Hollenbach, Pfc. Clyde R. Houser Jr., Spc. Paul C. Hunter, Spc. Charles R. Jones, Pfc. Larry L. Neff, Capt. Samuel L. O'Donnell Jr., Pfc. Michael P. Pavlocak Jr., Pfc. Clifford L. Sell and Maj. William C. Whitehead Jr.Closing ceremonies will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. George H. Duell Jr. will be master of ceremonies.The Palmerton Band will perform a patriotic concert in the park bandstand at 7 p.m.Joe Uhnak was one of the UVO members in the park Tuesday completing the preparatory work involved with hosting with the wall."There are a lot of local people who for one reason or another can't get to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.," Uhnak said. "This, more than anything, is a chance for them to come here, see the wall and pay their respects."Matt Lang, owner of Lang's Landscaping, said Tuesday it was an honor to be helping the UVO prepare the site."We'll do anything for the veterans," Lang said. "We helped with the permanent Veterans Memorial that is in the park and we don't hesitate for something like this. We're not lacking for work right now, but it's important to come and help these guys out. It's a great group of guys putting this together."Five wreaths will represent the five branches of the military and 18 wreaths will represent each of the servicemen originally from the area who died in the Vietnam War, according to Ed Moyer, commander of the Palmerton American Legion Post 269.A wreath will be placed in front of the panel where their names are listed.The wreath will have red, white and blue flowers and a ribbon in the colors of the Vietnam flag. The serviceman's name and panel number will be written on the ribbon.Fundraising has been ongoing for costs involved with preparing for the wall, including setting up a base for the wall, advertisement, lighting and other expenses."To date, we have raised around $20,000," Vlossak said.The biggest donor was the Palmerton Swim Team which gave the UVO a check Monday night for $2,700, which came from a fundraiser it held."We've been very fortunate to have the community step forward the way they did," Uhnak said.The wall will be open 24/7 to the public while it's in town.Vlossak anticipates it being set up no later than 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon.