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It might be one of the most solemn events to take place at the old Hanley Falls athletic field, but it's meaningful for many people in the area. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial wall has returned to southwest Minnesota, and will be open for visitors this weekend near the Minnesota Machinery Museum in Hanley Falls.

"It seems as it gets closer, we've been getting more calls about it," said Gary Velde, one of the organizers helping to bring the memorial to Hanley Falls.

Setup of the traveling wall, which is a three-fifths scale model of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be done Thursday. Volunteers, including members of local American Legion posts, will be working to set up and guard the wall, said Commander Nick Reishus of the Hanley Falls American Legion post.

Velde said an opening ceremony would take place Friday at 7 p.m. Local Legion posts plan to lay memorial wreaths on the wall. Yellow Medicine Lutheran Church is also planning to remember area veterans at its 9 a.m. Sunday services, he said.

Velde said visitors can come see the wall whenever they wish through Sunday. A computer database will also be available for visitors who are trying to find a specific soldier's name on the wall.

The last time the traveling memorial was in the area, it stopped in Minneota.

The wall arrived in Hanley Falls by truck on Wednesday evening, escorted by members of the Minnesota Patriot Guard riders. Those at the front of the procession were Vietnam veterans, Velde said.

Velde said organizers thought it was important to try and bring the wall to their community, because of the number of lives the Vietnam War impacted. It was never really acknowledged at the time, Vietnam affected many soldiers and families in the area, Velde said.

"It lasted from 1959 to 1975," he said. "We tried to make a list of soldiers in the proximity of Hanley Falls who served in the war, and we came up with quite a few names."

Those soldiers all came home alive, Velde said, but organizers knew there would be others whose names are included on the memorial.

"I believe for the wall to come to southwest Minnesota once again, it gives people the opportunity to participate in the grieving process," Velde said.

Both Velde and Reishus said they were thankful for the number of people who have come forward to help with the memorial.

"We've gotten so much support from surrounding communities," Reishus said. "Everyone we've contacted really wanted to help out."