Wisconsin XVI

Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing some pics from Wisconsin, not that I have been there in quite some time.

Joan Geraldson was looking for a friend on line and ended up seeing some of these posts and so very kindly forwarded me some of her own pictures.

They are from a program called Wisconsin Remembers that was part of the effort to put a face to every name on The Wall. It was in conjunction with the effort to build an Education Center, underground, at The Wall in DC. that effort is now defunct, funding could not be secured.

The following are just a few of the pictures that Joan sent me, I will post others in a future post.

When I first began this project I was adamant that I take every picture that appears here. I felt it was my duty to stand in front of every memorial and pay my respects to my (our) lost brothers and sisters. So, it is great surprise how happy it makes me to share the photos from others. If you are following along, you know that in the last several post many are just that: pictures sent to me by others.

It gives me hope that others seeing these will do the same.

Thank you, again, to Joan for her kindness.

Next time, on the 26th, we will return to Arizona, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Wisconsin, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page. 

If you follow along here you know that I always ask readers to send me any memorials, that I have not featured here, that they may have seen, just like Joan, Anthony, Molly and others, I promise to give photo credits (which might only matter to professionals) and hope that some might do so. A number of you have honored me and our fellow vets by doing just that and I hope this will encourage more of you to get in touch.

If you have photos, please send them to the address at the right side of this page.

West Virginia XVII

Just a brief visit today, back to Morgantown High School in West Virginia. These faces from the memorial on the grounds of the school are only a few of those remembered here. Others will follow in future posts.

 

1LT Ross and I were born in the same month and served in 'Nam at the same time. It is a little funny the details I notice while doing this work. 

I am writing this in the early hours of the morning before I go to my PTSD group at the local Vet Center. these photos and those they honor are a reminder that others paid a far larger debt than I was asked to pay.

Rest in Peace, brothers.

Next time, on the 21st we will revisit Wisconsin where a reader has kindly sent photos from a memorial there.

To see additional memorials from West Virginia, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page.

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks.

September 11, 2022

Once again we must pause to remember. Thousands of our fellow citizens,neighbors, friends, relatives, human beings were sacrificed: for reasons we will never fully understand. We could go on forever about the "whys" of this horrific event and probably never fully agree or understand the reasons or on what "would've, could've, should've been done in response, or to prevent. Never.

What we can do is remember. And, grieve. And honor those lost, injured, and affected by this ungodly act.

As you  may know, if you follow along here, I try to visit, photograph and honor 9/11 memorials wherever I may find them and then on most years try to post something here.

This year I have chosen to share a memorial found on The Commons in Boston.

The Commons is a beautiful park in central Boston. One could just wander for hours enjoying the trees, flowers, bridges and abundant water. Water birds of various types add much to the beauty and tranquility of the park. Along one of the many walkways you will come across this beautiful tribute to those lost on the 11th.

Time touches all more gently here,
here where man has said, No:
trees and grass, and flowers will remain,
where the first born sometimes sees
his father's eyes
reflected in the shallow pool,
feels an ancient heart beat
in the palm of his hand
pressed against a willow;
and seeking comfort, seeking shade
lies beneath the golden leaf elm
watching swanboats glide in season.

   Lawrence Homer from   

Boston and Sea Poems

So, once again on this day, like some others, that will "live in infamy" take a moment to remember, hug someone you love, vow to be better.

Next time, the aforementioned return to West Virginia ( in the previous post) will take place. Join me on the 16th, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from any state in the Union, please click on the state name on the left side of this page.

If you follow along here you know that I always ask readers to send me any memorials, that I have not featured here, that they may have seen. I promise to give photo credits (which might only matter to professionals) and hope that some might do so. A number of you have honored me and our fellow vets by doing just that and I hope this will encourage more of you to get in touch.

If you have photos, please send them to the address at the right side of this page

Virginia XXXI

Falls Church, Virginia is a near-in suburb of Washington D.C., so in an area so steeped in our history it came as no surprise that I would find a memorial to our service in Vietnam. In fact, I found three, but more on that in future posts.

The VFW here (Post 9274) has honored its members by painting a mural on one side of its building.

 

Along with the VFW insignia, Vietnam, GWOT, and Desert Storm, are honored. 

Next time, on the 11th, we will revisit West Virginia, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Virginia, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page.

If you follow along here you know that I always ask readers to send me any memorials, that I have not featured here, that they may have seen. I promise to give photo credits (which might only matter to professionals) and hope that some might do so. A number of you have honored me and our fellow vets by doing just that and I hope this will encourage more of you to get in touch.

If you have photos, please send them to the address at the right side of this page.

Vermont XIII

This may turn out to be the shortest post I have ever made.

I will be asking you, anyone who chances across this, to help me identify just where this small, poignant, memorial is located.

I ran across it while perusing photos from New England. I think it is from Vermont, but as occasionally happens, I cannot verify that as absolute truth.

This, of course, is where you come in. You have always figured it out in the past when something similar has happened. I am counting on you!

What is important about it is that it reminds of us of the commitment we Vietnam vets made when Vietnam Veterans of America was formed.

As is well known and documented, many Vietnam vets were not warmly welcomed home. the stories you have certainly heard of the disrespect shown them (us) are true. Not all of it fell upon any one vet and some vets were probably not subject to it al all. 

But, it happened to so many.

The only incident I will speak to here is the fact that the various Veterans organizations wanted little, and often nothing, to do with us. I, like many of my brothers and sisters, was turned away from their doors.

Hence, the birth of VVA. Our founding motto is emblazoned upon this simple stone, seemingly alone if a beautiful green field or meadow. I have no pictures in the file that give me any hint as to where it is except the file name, Vermont.

"Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another"

Help me find it!

 

So, maybe not the shortest post I have ever made after all.

Next time, on the 6th, we will return to Virginia. Meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Vermont, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page.

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net.

Texas XXI

Anthony Rives from Texas was kind enough to send along these photos from the Community Center in Whitehouse. Whitehouse is about 20 minutes southeast of Tyler and less than two hours from Dallas.

 

 

This memorial was a Eagle Scout project of Joseph Mohr, as are a few others around the country. One in Jacksonville, Illinois pops to mind as I write this. You can read about that one here.

 

This memorial, like so many others in small towns, remembers and honors those who served in several wars.

Plaques on the sides honor specific service men or women.  

Predictably and sadly, much space as been allotted for future names.

So, I will end today with a special thanks to Tony Rives and all the others who have forwarded me remembrances from places I have never been. You all make this a better site and I am forever grateful. When this project started it was important to me to actually stand in front of and take every picture that is featured here. I still have some of those feelings but realize that more vets will benefit from the contributions of others.

And that has always been the point of A Means to Heal: to let other vets, especially 'Nam vets, know that people everywhere care. For many of us that was always in doubt, hopefully those fears have been allayed by these and other memorial across the country.

Next time, on the 1st, we will make a very quick stop in Vermont to see a memorial that I hope one of you will be able to help me identify. As in the past, I have lost track of its specific location and like in the past I hope you will be able to help.

To see additional memorials from Texas, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page. 

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net.

South Dakota XXIII

So, today I am here to make a correction.

A short time ago I posted about a memorial that I said was from North Dakota, even though at the time I said that there was some confusion (only on my part) about that.

The pictures had been sent to me by Molly Macdonald and I misinterpreted something she said in her note.

These pictures which I am re-posting here, where they belong, are actually from South Dakota.

Taken in Belle Fourche, they honor those who served in Vietnam

                                                     Photo by: Molly Macdonald

                                                    Photo by: Molly Macdonald

An interesting note about this particular memorial is that well over $1,000 was raised by Middle School students collecting pennies to help fund it.

Also, Belle Fourche happens to be the geological center of the United States and there is a beautiful memorial noting that here, too, among several other memorials in Memorial Park.

Geographic Center of the U.S. Photo by: Molly Macdonald

So, with apologies to my readers and Molly, I will say that I finally got this right. It has always been important to me to be as accurate as possible when "placing" memorials so that if anyone is ever interested they might visit them in person. I have commented in the past about how much misinformation there is out there about these memorials, so I want you to be able to locate them more easily that I have on occasion.

Next time, on the 27th, we will return to Texas where yet another reader has recently sent me some photos. Join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from South Dakota, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page. 

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. 

Several of you have followed through in the recent weeks and helped me to continue spreading info about how we honor our brothers and sisters who served in 'Nam, thank you again, and please to everyone else, keep writing!