Ravenswood Vietnam Wall ceremony rescheduled for May 2021

The Ravenswood Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners (BOPARC) announced it has rescheduled the upcoming Vietnam Wall ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving it to May, 2021.

The event was intended to honor veterans of the Vietnam War. It was first scheduled to occur earlier this spring and was initially rescheduled for the last week of May, 2020. But because the health crisis is still ongoing, BOPARC has made the decision to move it to next year.

“A lot of the people who would be attending, of course, are Vietnam veterans, and they would be in the at-risk category,” said Katrena Ramsey, superintendent of parks and recreation.

The multi-day event was intended to feature a keynote speaker, the Army band playing live music, and the attendance of other dignitaries. The band the Johnny Staats Project was scheduled to perform, and there was to be an additional ceremony to honor Gold Star families, Ramsey said. Next year’s itinerary will be similar.

In 2019, BOPARC hosted a Korean War ceremony that drew around 750 attendees and, according to Ramsey, attendance at next year’s event is expected to potentially exceed that number.