Vietnam Veterans Wall Expected To Double Attendance At Manteca Memorial Day Celebration

MANTECA (CBS13) — Attendance is expected to double at a Manteca Memorial Day celebration because of what many are calling a healing wall.

The replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is a little smaller than the one in the nation's capital, but it still delivers a huge emotional impact.

Mike Dillman doesn't need the images to bring back the memories of Vietnam. He still has a tough time accepting that he came back .

"You have survivor's guilt," he said. "You wonder why you're here and they're not."

In fact, he's still not ready to take a look at the wall he helped bring to Manteca's Woodward Park. It was 10 years ago when he put his name on a list to get the three-quarters-scale replica in town on Memorial Day to help the healing process for veterans like himself and for families of those who never made it back.

But it's' not just about the wall. It's about bringing veterans and the community together to pay tribute. All of this may be hard to look at, but Mike Dillman will have to bring himself to stand next to these names and say one last thing this weekend.

"I don't know if they can hear me or not but it helps for me to say to them I love you and I miss you and thank you for your service, and God bless you," he said.