Vietnam-era veteran Michael Tripp attended Friday’s memorial ceremony, dedicated to prisoners of war and those missing in action and their families on the second day the Vietnam Moving Wall was in Wareham.

“It’s hard to be here, but it’s something I feel I have to do," said Tripp.

A half-size replica of the Washington, D.C.. monument, the wall will be open to the public across the street from Wareham Middle School until Monday.

Tripp was one of the thousands of people expected to visit the wall over the next few days. He said he lost a close friend in the Vietnam War when his friend was only 20 years old.

Tripp plans to visit the Moving Wall every day it is in Wareham and to find his friend’s name on the wall.

The black and white POW and MIA flag flew over the Vietnam Wall alongside the American flag, bringing solemn remembrance of the 1,606 people who remain missing from the Vietnam War.

Vietnam veteran James Bruce of Wareham gave remarks at the ceremony held inside the middle school auditorium due to rain. Bruce talked about his ABCs of the Vietnam War: Richard Arruda, Ronald Bumpus and Jim Crowley, his friends from Wareham who died in the Vietnam War.

“It’s stories like that, it draws me here in a way I can’t explain,” Tripp said of Bruce’s account.

When a person died in the Vietnam War, Bruce said the family was typically notified with a phone call and often a personal house visit. Bruce’s own parents were visited by a pastor and an officer, telling them their son was missing in action. Bruce said his parents believed him to be missing for about a week.

Bruce said the Moving Wall has caused him to talk about his experiences in the war after 50 years of avoiding the topic.

“You bury it so you can get on with life,” Bruce said. “But this was a breath of fresh air."