Vietnam War memorial brings closure to Cupertino vets

Dennis Whittaker had a dream to bring the Vietnam memorial wall to Cupertino.

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Having served in the Vietnam War as a platoon leader, and having lost three teammates on a mission gone wrong, he felt a call to bring the wall to his home city and commemorate their lives. After more than one year of planning and raising $13,500 for the installation of the traveling wall, the 360-foot-long, 8-foot-tall replica was brought to Cupertino.

It’s an 80% replica of the wall that exists in Washington D.C., provided by the America’s Freedom Tribute, and lists the names of U.S. soldiers who died serving in the Vietnam War. The last time Cupertino had a Vietnam memorial wall brought into the city was roughly 15 years ago.

The wall was installed Wednesday at the Cupertino Memorial Park and is being taken down Saturday after 11:30 a.m. Seeing the names of Whittaker’s men engraved on the wall has brought him a sense of closure and peace.

“It s very meaningful to me that it brings a closeness to those who