The city of Scranton, as the co-sponsor of a traveling exhibit honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans of the Vietnam War and service members from World War I through Operation Enduring Freedom, has announced the schedule of events for the Oct. 2-4 display at Nay Aug Park.
The tributes at the park at 500 Arthur Ave. in Scranton are presented in partnership with Lackawanna County and provided by America’s Freedom Tribute.
“Scranton and Northeastern Pennsylvania have an incredible record of military service to our country,” Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti said in an announcement Thursday. “This event is a fitting capstone to a year of other special moments. As America celebrates its storied history, hosting this tribute to our Armed Forces and the veterans who have served our country and community is an honor and a privilege, and one we hope to share with thousands of our neighbors throughout this event from Oct. 2-4.”
Arrival
The Traveling Vietnam Wall and “Cost of Freedom” tributes will arrive in Scranton on Thursday. Starting at about 10 a.m., a convoy of Pennsylvania State Police and the Scranton Police Department will escort the display from PNC Field, 235 Montage Mountain Road, Moosic, along Interstate 81 and the North Scranton Expressway, and finally up Mulberry Street to Nay Aug Park. A volunteer group of local veterans will help assemble the display in place near the new Nay Aug Park pool complex and multicourt facility on Thursday.
Public display hours
Public viewing hours begin Friday, Oct. 2, at approximately noon. In conjunction with First Friday Scranton, officials will hold an opening ceremony at Nay Aug Park beginning at 5:30 p.m. Viewing hours on Friday will end at sunset, approximately 6:30. Both the Traveling Vietnam Wall and “Cost of Freedom” tributes will remain on display, with public viewing hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both Saturday, Oct. 3, and Sunday, Oct. 4.
The Traveling Vietnam Wall is an 80% replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The “Cost of Freedom Tribute” includes panels memorializing those who have made the ultimate sacrifice from World War I through 9/11, the Gulf Wars and Operation Enduring Freedom.
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)
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)
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)
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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)