Reading your experience about the wall makes me think of mine. We have a Vietnam veteran’s park near my home. Thy have a moving wall display every year or so. It’s about 3/4 scale. I’ve had occasion to stop by while riding my bicycle to work at 6:30 am with fog settled low on the ground. After I left, I had to stop at a park bench and gather myself back up.
This year, I told one of the vets at the wall that I really hate when they bring it over cause it causes me to lose my composure every time. I’ve seen the moving wall and the real one. For some reason, the moving one is more emotional to me.
I truly hope that whoever did this is caught and very publicly made to pay for his actions...very publicly. Personally, I’d chain him to a lightpost near the memorial, fence him in (to keep him alive) and leave him there for about a week.
It hits closer to home, in the most literal sense. On the Mall, well, you're on the Mall -- there are memorials everywhere you look. The moving wall is in front of a backdrop you see every day.