October 23, 2015
For immediate release
Contact: Mary Miles
Office: 410-568-8821
SPECIAL TO: WASHINGTON COUNTY MEDIA
Traveling exhibit saluting Maryland’s Vietnam veterans
comes to sites in Washington County
Traveling display goes statewide to set stage for MPT documentary and event
OWINGS MILLS, MD–Washington County will host the MPT Salutes Vietnam Veterans Traveling Exhibit at two locations in the coming weeks. The display can be viewed in the lobby at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown (USMH) from November 10 through November 22, and at the Fletcher Branch of Washington County Free Library from November 24 through December 6.
The exhibit is making its way around Maryland through next June to celebrate the military service of Marylanders during the Vietnam War. The public is invited to see the display at its Washington County stops or at future venues.
The exhibit features both current-day and wartime images of 16 men and women along with their recollections of incidents from the war. Also included are artifacts from the war and opportunities for display visitors to craft messages to veterans.
The USMH lobby is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 9 p.m., on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. USMH is located at 32 West Washington Street.
The library is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., on Fridays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.The library is located at 100 South Potomac Street, Hagerstown.
MPT Salutes Vietnam Veterans is a multi-year project, the largest in Maryland Public Television’s history, to recognize and thank those who served in the military during the Vietnam era. The project unfolds in 2016 with the broadcast premiere of a three-hour documentary called Maryland Vietnam War Stories and with a two-day public event.
The documentary film will feature interviews with nearly 100 men and women and will air on MPT over three nights in late May. The two-day special weekend event – called LZ Maryland – occurs on June 18-19, 2016, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. LZ Maryland will include such features as displays of a Huey helicopter and other military vehicles and aircraft of the era; the stirring conclusion of a motorcycle “Honor Ride” featuring Vietnam veterans and veterans of other wars from across the mid-Atlantic region as a salute to fallen and missing servicemembers; the display of The Wall That Heals, the traveling half-size replica of D.C.’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial; on-site displays of Vietnam-era military gear and equipment; a mobile Army surgical hospital (MASH) unit; entertainment from the Vietnam years; and solemn ceremonies to salute those Marylanders who were killed or missing in combat.
Information on the MPT Vietnam project and the travel exhibit schedule can be found at mpt.org/vietnam. Interested persons may also call 410-581-4182 for information or to be added to the project’s mailing list.
The MPT Salutes Vietnam Veterans Traveling Exhibitis made possible in part by the SunTrust Foundation.
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