Vietnam War memorial wall replica returning to Nay Aug Park in Scranton

For the first time in 15 years, Scranton’s Nay Aug Park will host a Vietnam War memorial traveling wall replica in a free display event Oct. 2-4.

The touring exhibit of the nonprofit America’s Freedom Tribute organization also will include displays honoring sacrifices of military service members from World War I through Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Similar touring replicas of the permanent Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., visited Nay Aug Park in 2007 and 2011.

From February 1961 to May 1975, over 3.4 million Americans were deployed in support of U.S military operations in Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia, with over 58,000 paying the ultimate sacrifice and nearly 1,600 remaining unaccounted for, according to the Veterans of Foreign Wars website.

Most living Vietnam-era veterans are now in their 70s and 80s.

The upcoming event at Nay Aug Park, which is cosponsored by the city of Scranton and Lackawanna County, was arranged in large part by Marine veteran Sam Kuchwara, 72, of Dickson City, who is a native of Scranton and an active volunteer with the Friends of Nay Aug Park civic group.

The idea of getting a replica Vietnam War wall back on display in Scranton was raised by Kuchwara’s brother, James “Kuch” Kuchwara, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War and commander of VFW Post 25 in North Scranton, before he died in March 2023 at age 73.

The brothers were visiting Nay Aug Park a few years ago when Jim mentioned to Sam the idea of bringing a touring Vietnam War memorial wall back to the city.

“I can’t believe it was 20 years ago my brother was involved in bringing that Vietnam wall to Nay Aug Park up at the Everhart Museum,” Kuchwara said during a Sept. 2 meeting of the Lackawanna County commissioners, where he publicized the upcoming event. “Now, here we are 20 years later. God bless him, before he died, he said, ‘Sam, you know we’ve got to get that wall back up here.’ And he passed away suddenly. I had thought so much about what he wanted and I wanted to fulfill that commitment that he wanted up at Nay Aug Park.”

Planning started last year for a traveling wall exhibit to visit Scranton, and to also coincide with the 250th anniversary year of the United States, and 160th anniversary of the city. The lead time to arrange for such a visit was about a year.

“It’s going to become reality on Oct. 2nd to the 4th,” Kuchwara said.

Marine veteran Sam Kuchwara of Dickson City announces a Vietnam War memorial traveling wall exhibit coming to Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Oct. 2-4, 2026. Kuchwara spoke during the Lackawanna County Commissioners meeting in Scranton on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Marine veteran and Scranton native Sam Kuchwara of Dickson City at a veterans memorial flag pole at Nay Aug Park in Scranton named in honor of his late brother, Jim “Kuch” Kuchwara, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War who died in 2023 at age 73, and that’s dedicated to all living and deceased veterans. Photo taken Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

Gen. Theodore J. Wint VFW Post 25 commander James Kuchwara speaks during the post’s Memorial Day ceremony May 30, 2022 at Veterans Memorial Park in Scranton. (TIMES-TRIBUINE / FILE PHOTO)

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Arrival, display, departure

The plan calls for the exhibit and displays to be delivered Oct. 1 and set up inside Nay Aug Park. The Cost of Freedom tribute includes panels memorializing those who have made the ultimate sacrifice from World War I through Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pennsylvania State Police and motorcycles will escort the delivery vehicle on Interstate 81 north from Montage Mountain to the Biden Expressway entrance into the city. Scranton police will escort the vehicles in the city and up Mulberry Street to Nay Aug Park.

The free exhibit will be displayed in the grass area behind the pool and multicourt complex, and which has a paved trail for disabled accessibility.

The event will include services and speakers. An itinerary will be publicized closer to the date of the event.

The traveling exhibit will be disassembled and packed up Oct. 4 and begin its transport to its next destination.

“It should be a pretty big and a great event,” Kuchwara said. “Our whole mission is — with this wall bringing it back here — we want to educate the kids. We don’t want them to forget. And it’s about time that we did this again, bring this wall back.”

Vietnam era veteran Donny Knight, 64, of North Scranton, who served in the Army from 1966 to 1968 in Okinawa, Japan, observes the Wall That Heals at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in Oct. of 2011. Knight also is a member of the Friends of the Forgotten. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Everhart Museum Community Day

Meanwhile, on Oct. 3, the Everhart Museum at Nay Aug Park also will host its fifth annual Rakin’ in the Fun Community Day inside and outside and featuring free admission to the museum from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and various free activities and entertainment from noon to 4 p.m., including pumpkin painting, fun demonstrations and live music.

“Rakin’ in the Fun is something we look forward to every year and we’re always excited to celebrate the season alongside our guests,” Everhart Museum Director of Education Camille Dantone said in an announcement. “We host three community days each year as a way to thank our community for its continued support, while also making the Everhart more accessible and welcoming through fun, educational experiences for everyone.”

For information on the museum or Rakin’ in the Fun, visit everhart-museum.org.

The Everhart Museum in Scranton on April 15, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

A statue of Isaiah Everhart outside of his namesake museum in Scranton on April 15, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

The Everhart Museum in Scranton on April 15, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

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The Everhart Museum in Scranton on April 15, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

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Meet Sam Kuchwara

At the Lackawanna County commissioners’ meeting on Sept. 2, Chairman Thom Welby gave the following introduction of Sam Kuchwara, who attended that meeting to announce the Vietnam War memorial traveling wall exhibit coming to Nay Aug Park during the first weekend in October.

“Sam’s life is a testament to the enduring spirit of service, a journey that began in the early ’70s and continues to shape his community today. From 1972 to 1974, Sam served as a rifleman in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, stationed at Camp Lejeune and later in Okinawa (Japan) with the U.S. 7th Fleet, Cpl. Kuchwara took part in vital missions to Da Nang (in Vietnam), carrying out his duties with the discipline and dedication that would define his later years.

“When his time in the military concluded, Sam brought that commitment back home to Lackawanna County, particularly obvious in these most recent years in the grounds at Nay Aug Park. His connection to the park is deep-rooted. Over the decades, he has witnessed its transformation from the days of the former zoo to its modern evolution as hub for recreation. Today, Sam is a constant presence at the park, assisting with daily construction, touch-ups, overseeing major infrastructure improvements and his handiwork is visible everywhere, from the renovation of the former pool refreshment stand, which now stands as a widely used community room. He also championed accessibility throughout the park, ensuring new sidewalks were installed so that every member of the community can enjoy the park that he loves so much. Also, in his restoration of the refreshment stand into the community room that it is now used by volunteer groups, by municipal authorities, meeting rooms and also as a new home for one of our American Legions that was without a home.

“Beyond the park’s borders, Sam continues to stand by and with his brother and sister veterans, serving as a vital mentor for the Lackawanna County Veterans Court, and as vice-commander at American Legion Post 121 in Scranton. Now a resident of Dickson City, Sam lives with his wife, Gail, and remains a steady driving force for community improvement and a living example of what it means to serve.”

Hometown Hero banners in Scranton of Kuchwara brothers James, Samuel and Michael, on display at Arthur Avenue and Olive Street, across from Nay Aug Park in the city’s Hill Section neighborhood on Sept. 10, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

Volunteer for the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority Sam Kuchwara installs a park bench in Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Aug. 22, 2024. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

In this photo from Sept. 6, 2008, George Lowry, left, and Sam Kuchwara, both of Scranton, display photographs of them taken in 1967 from the Times-Tribune archive as they retrieved a 3 and a half foot alligator found in Nay Aug Gorge in Scranton. They were at the Wild Times photography exhibit held at The Scranton Times Building. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

Three members of the new nonprofit Friends of Nay Aug Park group, from left, Russell Preno, Ed Davis and Sam Kuchwara, at the park in Scranton on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (JIM LOCKWOOD/STAFF PHOTO)

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A flyer for a Vietnam War traveling wall event to take place at Nay Aug Park in Scranton Oct. 2-4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, third from left, and city council President Gerald Smurl, at far left, pose with local veterans, from left, John Heil, Phil Fleming, Jim McHugh, Sam Kuchwara and Matthew Fedor, at a veteran’s memorial flag pole at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. The veterans are members of American Legion Koch-Conley Post 121 that uses the community building at Nay Aug Park, Kuchwara said. The group met to discuss with The Times-Tribune plans to have a Vietnam War memorial traveling wall replica return to Scranton in Oct. 2-4, 2026, when the exhibit will visit Nay Aug Park. (JIM LOCKWOOD/ STAFF PHOTO)

A small American flag is displayed in front of The Wall That Heals at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in Octobter of 2011. The traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Museum travels the country throughout the year. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

Vietnam Veteran Mike Cerato, 61, of Scranton, takes a picture of the names of several of his buddies who died during the Vietnam War at The Wall That Heals at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in Nov. of 2007. ” I was with a good group and they deserve the recognition”. “Seeing their names, it chokes you right up”. “I hope a lot of kids see this to realize how lucky they are”. “As scary as it was, I was blessed and fortunate”. Cerato was with M- Company, 3rd battalion, 9th Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam from 1966-1967. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

Vietnam Veteran Mike Cerato, 61, of Scranton, points to the names of several of his buddies who died in the Vietnam War on The Wall That Heals at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in Nov. of 2007.. “It’s hard to fathom, you look at all those names”. Cerato was with M -Compnay 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division from 1966-1967. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)

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