Vietnam veteran Donald J. Miller has always longed to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, he said tears came to his eyes when taking part in welcoming a three-quarter-size replica of the memorial called The Wall That Heals to be set up until Sunday in Wells Park in El Cajon.

El Cajon Councilwoman Michelle Metschel told participants: “This is especially wonderful because there are so many individuals who are not able to travel to Washington, D.C., to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Wall That Heals provides the opportunity for this moving experience.”

Miller, 75, served three tours of duty in Vietnam from 1968-1973 as a member of the 101st Airborne.

“This means everything to me,” he said of the wall.

More than 75 motorcyclists and drivers escorted the truck carrying the replica. People stood by the sides of the roads and waved and cheered.

The wall will be built beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at 1153 E. Madison Ave. and a opening ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday.

The free mobile exhibit will be open around the clock until 2 p.m. Sunday. About 200 volunteers will assist.

“It means recognition of all of the Vietnam vets that served in Vietnam,” Miller said. “We need to be recognized for what we did. I came back and I was a pariah.”

Miller spoke about how many Americans took their opposition to the war out on returning soldiers, seeing them as the “bad” guys.

However, Miller believes that in the past 10 years, Vietnam War veterans have begun to be recognized for their sacrifice.

“The World War II (veterans) were all heroes when they came back,” he said. “They had a parade. No parade for Vietnam, no heroes, nothing.”

That sentiment was shared by Alex Bedoya Jr., who brought his 74-year-old Vietnam veteran father on the procession and to the welcoming ceremony.

“We came to be part of history,” said the 43-year-old son. “We talked about it when I was growing up, and he deserves to see it.”

“He got the welcome that he deserves,” Bedoya said of his father who served on the USS Tripoli.

Volunteer Grace Herrera said after the escort: “As we were riding in, you see a lot of grumpy faces of drivers who are stuck in traffic, but when they see us parade by and see the truck, you see smiles on their faces and they start waving.

“It’s been quite an emotional day,” she explained. 

Participants were able to see items that family and friends have left at the Washington memorial. They were encased in glass on the sides of the 53-foot truck.

Also feeling the mood was Gilbert Peck, 61, of Rancho Penasquitos.

“Having it here is amazing,” Peck said. “It is a military town. It’s an honor to have it here.”

Peck said he became emotional when he met Vietnam War veterans prior to the procession, thinking of the more than 58,000 military members who died in the war. He also thought of those who returned “not necessarily whole.”

“They never got this type of reception and that’s why it’s so important,” he said, “and I am getting chocked up now because it’s important that they get recognized.”

El Cajon Councilman Phil Ortiz told the crowd: “We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude that we could never repay, especially our Vietnam veterans.”

The memorial replica captures the military spirit, Ortiz said.

“You are valued, you are honored, and you are special and you are not forgotten,” he said. 

El Cajon is the fourth of 33 cities where the mobile exhibit will be shown.