His deployment to Vietnam lasted one year, one day. He has friends whose names are listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Warrenton resident Rick Mantione was one of the fortunate ones to make it home safely. However, tens of thousands weren't so lucky. Mantione still holds hard feelings about the Vietnam War. He blames the press and politics for lengthening the war and causing extra casualties. The treatment received by soldiers upon their return home also was horrendous. "These people need to be honored for the sacrifice they made," said Mantione, who visited the Moving Wall last week in Warrenton. "At the time, a lot of us were draftees, some were volunteers. We thought we were doing the right thing. The politics didn't matter. We thought it was our time to go. They did die for freedom." For many, including Mantione, last week's arrival of the Moving Wall was a chance to reflect on what happened 40 years ago. "It's very significant that it's here," Mantione said. "It comes at a time when our country really needs to consolidate behind traditional, constitutional values. We need to get back to the basics." The arrival of the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall at the Preferred Outlets at Warrenton was arranged by the American Legion Riders Chapter 122 of Warrenton and paid for through donations and a contribution from the city of Warrenton. Mike Burgess, a member of the American Legion Riders who organized the scheduling of the Moving Wall, said he was pleased with the turnout throughout the weekend. Last Thursday's opening ceremony featured 100 pigeons released into the sky. On Saturday, a POW/MIA candle lighting and wreaths ceremony had more than 100 participants touch the wall simultaneously. The Moving Wall, half the size of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., was visited by numerous students, including those who made bus trips from Warrenton and Wentzville high schools. "Some people would never had been able to see it if it hadn't come to Warrenton," Burgess said. "That was the whole mission." The visitors who came over the weekend to the Wall were mixed in age and background. One of the visitors strolling around the Wall Friday was Brent Brandwein, a 29-year-old member of the U.S. Army. He graduated the day before from aviation mechanics school. Later this month, he will head to Fort Hood, Texas, preparing for a future that has no script. Brandwein, however, was glad to take the opportunity for a brief visit to walk next to other soldiers. "I just wanted to pay my respects to my brothers in arms," Brandwein said. "They should be recognized." Val Cummings, of St. Charles, visited the Moving Wall Friday morning. She etched a name of a deceased soldier for an acquaintance now living in a nursing home. "I'm very touched," she said. "I'm very thankful people are doing this. It keeps it in front of us." Coincidentally, the Moving Wall's visit coincided with the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A remembrance ceremony was held Friday morning in front of the Wall to honor and recognize local emergency responders. At 8:45 a.m., emergency tones went off signaling the time when the first of two planes struck the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Guest speaker Christina Saenz, a Warrenton firefighter whose husband is currently in Iraq serving as a civilian firefighter, said all she needed was a recent call from her husband to confirm the importance of being overseas. "He called me and said, 'Christina, you don't know how well we've got it back home,'" Saenz said.