Johnny Clay of Kaufman, Texas, bolts the panels from the Vietnam Memorial Wall replica together at the Pima County Fairgrounds.

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More than 400 flag-bedecked motorcycles escorted a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial through Tucson to the Pima County Fairgrounds Friday.

The 370-foot replica of the wall went on public display Saturday at the fairgrounds and will remain there until April 28.

It is part of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute and Wall Exhibit, which travels across the U.S. to honor American servicemen and -women.

The tribute also includes a commemoration for every American war as well as gold dog tags of more than 67,000 fallen soldiers from Vietnam to the present Iraq war.

"It's a good opportunity for people who had good or bad memories of the wars to go and reflect," said Sam Barnard, ride captain for Arizona's Patriot Guard, the group in charge of escorting the wall replica.

Many of the motorcyclists escorting the replica are veterans and have escorted the wall across Arizona to Tucson.

"It give you a great sense of pride that people are remembering and that you're part of something bigger than yourself," said Dan Ferguson, a Patriot Guard member from Sierra Vista.

Ferguson, 41, served as a Marine in both Desert Storm and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Four of his friends are remembered on the wall.

"It brings home a sense of reality," he said. "Our freedoms are paid at someone else's expense."

For many who have never been to Washington, D.C., it's also a chance to see an exact replica of the famed wall in person.

The replica was created in 1997 and makes roughly 44 stops per year as part of the Traveling Wall Foundation.

It's not the only replica in the United States; two to three others also make routine stops throughout the year.

The version visiting Tucson is the largest of these, at 80 percent of the original's size.