Speakers during the public comment period at a Fall River City meeting described the city’s healing wall, urged volunteer maintenance and said the memorial’s upkeep is a shared responsibility; cadet Paige LaLiberty announced she will leave for boot camp Sept. 3 to join the Army National Guard at Fort Leonard Wood.

The wall, described by speakers as a reflective black-aluminum memorial measuring 360 feet, is maintained in perpetuity by a trust fund and is visited year-round by veterans and volunteers who wash pollen, construction dust and bird droppings, speakers said. "The reflective black aluminum panels were constructed in Texas, and it is common to find photographs, handwritten poetry, and flowers placed beneath," a public commenter said.

Why it matters: speakers said regular cleaning and public attention preserves the memory of those listed on the wall and complements formal maintenance carried out through the trust fund. Names on the wall, they said, are arranged chronologically by date of casualty and then alphabetically; additions occur when remains are identified through recovered DNA, a commenter said.

Speakers described an annual, volunteer-led cleaning that coincides with Memorial Day observances but continues throughout the year. "Although we remember them all year long because the monument's there during Memorial Day week, we come out here and we can honor them hands on by keeping their place clean," another commenter said. A representative speaking for Vietnam Veterans of America urged visitors to read names aloud as a way to remember those listed: "When your name is no longer said, you are forgotten," the representative said.

Paige LaLiberty, identified as a cadet lieutenant in Durfee NJROTC, told the meeting she will leave for boot camp on Sept. 3 — which she noted is her mother’s birthday — and that she will be assigned to Fort Leonard Wood as a member of the Army National Guard. "I'll be leaving for boot camp, September 3, mom's birthday, and I'll be heading to Fort Leonard Wood and I'm serving the Army National Guard," LaLiberty said.

Speakers also referenced a figure of about 58,000 veterans in the war being commemorated; that number was stated during public comment and not independently verified at the meeting. The public comments combined personal testimony, descriptions of how the memorial is maintained and reminders that veterans' groups and volunteers perform hands-on cleaning to keep the site accessible and respectful.