A traveling Vietnam memorial will be escorted to VA Butler Healthcare in Butler Township on Wednesday, where it will then be on display through Sunday.
The Butler County American Legion Riders will escort a pickup truck pulling a 24-foot trailer that holds the American Veterans Traveling Tribute from Victory Family Church in Cranberry Township to VA Butler Healthcare in Butler Township beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The escort will travel through Zelienople, Evans City, Butler Township and the city of Butler. Hundreds of motorcycles are expected to accompany the Butler County American Legion Riders on the procession. The community is also being asked to line the streets along the route.
The tribute is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and will be on display in Butler through Sunday. The traveling replica is 360 feet long and nearly eight feet high, which is roughly 80 percent of the size of the real thing.
There are 43 veterans from Butler County that lost their lives in Vietnam. A special tribute to each of them is available to read here.
A tentative timeline for Wednesday’s procession is:
-3:pm: Motorcycles begin gathering at Victory Family Church in Cranberry
-5:30pm: Motorcycles leave Victory Family Church in Cranberry and head north on Rt. 19
-5:40pm: Bikes arrive in Zelienople
-5:55pm: Bikes reach Evans City
-Between 6:15 pm and 6:30 p.m.: Bikes arrive on Main Street in downtown Butler (after traveling over the Picklegate Bridge)
-7 p.m.: The escort should arrive at VA Butler Healthcare
—
There will be some traffic restrictions surrounding Wednesday’s escort of the traveling Vietnam Memorial into Butler.
Butler Township police are urging residents to have patience and allow for extra time on Route 422 and near VA Butler Healthcare around 6 p.m. Some intersections may also have to be closed during the escort.
The Butler Transit Authority will end service early on Wednesday. All routes will end after Trip 9.
Audio Story
