Vietnam memorial replica gets escort

AUGUSTA – Hundreds of motorcyclists planned to escort a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial up the Maine Turnpike on Sunday from York to Lewiston where the 240-foot-long Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall will go on display Friday at Veterans Park.

The wall will remain on display through next weekend.

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is a three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Some bikers joining the escort said they should not have to pay turnpike tolls but the Maine Turnpike Authority said it was legally bound to collect them.

Steve Page, commander of American Legion Post 132 in Richmond and a member of the American Legion Riders, said Friday that charging a toll was an insult to Vietnam veterans.

“It’s outrageous,” said Page. “Here we are escorting a national treasure and we have to pay tolls to do it.”

Dan Paradee, spokesman for the Maine Turnpike Authority, said the authority is required by its bond resolution to collect a toll from everyone who uses the highway except in cases of emergency.

“When you borrow money, you make promises that you will collect tolls,” Paradee said. “You don’t have the luxury to decide who can go toll-free and who can’t.”

He said the authority worked out a plan with organizers under which toll money will be collected in advance. Maine state police were set to guide the motorcade up the turnpike with riders passing through the tollbooths without stopping, Paradee said.

“It’s just a given we operate with,” said Mike Martel of the Fortin Group-Dignity Memorial Wall Committee. “The only problem with it is that it detracts from the actual event, the beauty of bringing the wall to Lewiston and Auburn.”