Joe Vargas traces the name of Raymond R. Delgado, a fellow Marine who was killed in action in 1969, on The Wall That Heals displayed at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, Jan. 14, 2026. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII-WEST OAHU, Hawaii — On Wednesday morning, Joe Vargas stretched to reach the name of his Marine Corps buddy who was killed in action 57 years ago.
His name, Raymond R. Delgado, was etched atop Panel 30W of The Wall That Heals, which debuted on Oahu this week.
Vargas placed a sheet of paper over the name and carefully rubbed it with a pencil to create an outline — a physical keepsake of the fellow Marine he lost a lifetime ago.
“This was on my bucket list,” Vargas said shortly after a ceremony that officially kicked off the six-day display of the three-quarter-scale replica of the famed Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The replica is 375 feet long and made up of 140 synthetic granite name panels. Like the original, The Wall That Heals carries the names of more than 58,000 service members who died in the Vietnam War.
“I kept saying next year, next year, next year,” Vargas said of making the trip to D.C. “But I might be gone before next year, right? You never know.”
Visitors view the educational display that accompanies The Wall That Heals display at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, Jan. 14, 2026. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)
Tracing those names has become a ritual for thousands of loved ones, friends and comrades who have visited the original memorial since it was dedicated in 1983 and The Wall That Heals since being unveiled in 1996. The replica has since traveled to more than 800 communities in the United States.
“It hurts,” Vargas said of finding and tracing Delgado’s name. The pair were close friends and went through Marine Corps boot camp together at Parris Island, S.C., he said.
“It brings back memories I really don’t like to think about it,” he said. “I was thinking of not coming because of what it brings out of you. I didn’t want to break down.”
James Lynch, a 74-year-old Navy veteran who served two tours aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger during the Vietnam War, watched the ceremony from his wheelchair, rising to his feet during benediction, national anthem and taps.
“This opens a dialogue,” he said of the wall after the ceremony. “I think that’s what heals — opening a dialogue.”
He recalled being castigated by some Americans and even veterans of previous wars when he returned stateside from his tours.
James Lynch, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, salutes the U.S. flag while the national anthem plays during the opening ceremony for The Wall That Heals display at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu, Jan. 14, 2026. (Wyatt Olson/Stars and Stripes)
Hawaii state Sen. Mike Gabbard paid tribute during the ceremony to Hawaiians listed on the wall.
“Each name represents a life, an ohana and a sacrifice,” said Gabbard, using the Hawaiian word for family.
“For many Vietnam veterans, the welcome home didn’t come when it should have,” he said.
“This wall helps us to see it now. Together as a community, we’re so fortunate and thankful to have this opportunity to remember and to honor the 278 service members from Hawaii who made the ultimate sacrifice, giving up their life in selfless service to our country and to honor their ohana as well.”
The wall’s brief exhibition on the university campus will “provide a sense of healing, first and foremost for Gold Star families, for veterans from the Vietnam War, but also for the Oahu communities it is being shared with,” Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, told the audience.
“A subset of the over 58,000 who made the supreme sacrifice from the Vietnam War are 2,633 Americans who were not accounted for at the end of the war and are commonly known as MIAs,” he said.
There are now 1,566 service members unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
