Rhode Island XII

I have traveled in Rhode Island for many years and since the beginning of this project have been baffled as to why there seemed to be no memorial in Providence. It just didn't make sense: good sized city, certainly losses, but no memorial.

I would frequently do some research, but always came up empty.

Then, not too long ago, I found Squantum Woods Park and I set out to see what was there.

The beautiful memorial was dedicated in 2017. I was relieved to know that it was, in fact, pretty new and that I was not just missing it in my research.

You approach the site from a small parking lot.

Along the brick path there are dedications to those who served.

The area is known as the Garden of Flags.

The several from the area who were lost are honored here.

The memorial and park are located on Cadorna Street in East Providence.

Next time, on the 27th, we will return to Virginia, so meet me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

Pennsylvania XX

Milford is the county seat of Pike County, named for Zebulon Pike. Pike is credited with "discovering" Pike's Peak and he was killed in the War of 1812 while serving as a General.

The memorial was first dedicated in 1931 as a memorial to those who served in WWI.

Called the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial it was refurbished in 1991 and is said to honor all.

Located along Broad Street in a pretty park setting it does boast these small markers to honor other wars.

This is the only mention of Vietnam at the site, but it is here.

Next time, on the 22nd, we will return to Rhode Island, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Ohio IX

I am often astounded by how few Vietnam memorials actually feature  statues of our brothers and sisters.

There are some, of course, but far fewer that I would have expected, or perhaps, I have just not found them yet.

I have been writing in this sub-group, Faces of Remembrance for at least a few years now and am rapidly running out of these few and far between remembrances.

In Ohio, I actually have only seen one, in Masillion, that I will feature today.

Along with this one, I will include something I have never done before: a grieving wife (?) from the Clinton memorial.

Finally, I found this guy in Gallipolis at a multi-war memorial site. He is obviously not from the Vietnam era, but the look on his face, the thousand year stare, is universal, so I will honor him too.

So, as I have not found them, I ask you, challenge you, to send me ones in your town, city, or county. If they have not been featured here, I promise to give you a photo credit and if you provide info, I will credit you for that too. The least I need is location, and name if any. Please use the highest resolution your camera has and you can reach me by the email listed on the left side of this page.

Next time, on the 17th, we will revisit Pennsylvania, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

PS, you are not limited to statues, any Vietnam memorial is fine, even if it is part of a multi-war site.

New York XXI

I wandered around the Wallkill area for quite some time being completely unable to track down a memorial I had read about. Finally, I stopped into a fire station that, at first, seemed deserted. I wandered up flights of stairs until I bumped into some firemen who were somewhat surprised to see me! 

I asked them about the memorial and they were unsure until one remembered where is was. They gave me directions and I was on my way. 

It is hard to understand how they could have been unsure about this fantastic site, I guess it is generational. The site has any number of memorials: Vietnam, Vietnam and Korea, 9-11, and more, some of which I will write about at another time.

The main Vietnam memorial is reminiscent of The Wall in DC. It i a series of polished black stones perhaps 80 feet long and maybe eight feet high at the most.

Each of the stones is highly polished but only three have anything on them.

Two list the names of Veterans who served and from what little there is to be found on line about it, it seems that any veterans can have his name added to the wall. 

Wallkill and Middleton seem to meld into each other so much so that some say the Veterans Park is in Wallkill and others seem to think it is in  Middleton. Seriously, were it not for the signs you would not know there are two different towns here.

I have found one name from Wallkill and nine from Middleton on The Virtual Wall and I am sure they are all listed here among the names of the others that have served.

One thing I found a bit unusual about this site is the etching of the soldier adjacent to the names. He looks to me to be quite a bit older than the average guy in 'Nam. I could find no explanation for this and I hope that if anyone knows the story that you will let me know and I will update this post.

Finally, there is this small dedication plaque just at the front of the site.

Next time, on the 12th, we will revisit Ohio, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Happy New Year 2020 from New Mexico

As promised last time, here are the "shaped" balloons from the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque.

There are so many of these that a special day just to show them off is part of the fiesta. I was not at that day and all of these are just from the general ascension that I was able to attend. As you will see they are quite remarkable.

This guy seems most appropriate to begin the parade of shapes, the rest will be in no particular order.

To get a feel for how big these things are, note the baskets beneath each one and keep in mind that each basket holds all the equipment to inflate and guide the balloon and a crew of at least a couple of people!

Quite a few are commercial.

This one is a Kiwi from New Zealand.

These two are always together and they both landed in my friends yard this year.

  Just love this one.

This guy is huge, wish I new his story!

So, these are just a few of these remarkable entries.

I hope you enjoy them and that they bring a smile for the New Year.

Next time, on the 7th, we will return to visiting Vietnam memorials and will revisit New York, so, join me there as always, at 9:00am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state, please click a state name on the left side of this page.

Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Balloon fiesta is held for nine days each October. It began in 1972 with one balloon as part of a unrelated event and grew into more than 1,000 balloons. This number had to be limited over time due to expansion of the city and the loss of safe landing areas.

The events start in the very early morning and continue until the winds change, usually in the early afternoon, it then resumes in full force as the winds pick up in the late afternoon and evening.

There are mass ascensions where many balloons take off at roughly the same time, but all begin with the heating of the air inside the envelope (balloon.)

One of the main features of this New Mexico event is what is called the Albuquerque box. Because of the landscape of flat lands and mountain ranges the wind blows in such a way that a Balloonist can take off at one spot, travel along and between the mountains and return to nearly the same spot from which he ascended. This is unusual if not completely unique.

Balloons land in many different places. Locals who are open to them landing on their property spray big red X's to alert the pilots that it is OK to land. Then folks run out and help collapse the envelope, store the whole apparatus and usually take part in a impromptu party after. Balloonists oven carry Champagne and other goodies to break out as a "Thank you" to those who help.

A French team landed right near my friends house and we helped them pack up. One guy on the team (of four, I think) was American and translated for all of us. The team ALWAYS wears these headbands with fake hair and they had an extra for me for this shot! Last time I had this much hair, I was probably a teenager! For those who don't know, I am second from the left.

Next time, on the 2nd, more from Albuquerque and some of the marvelous "shaped" balloons, then, on the 7th back to Vietnam memorials.

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

Christmas 2019

I had really hoped to be able to get down to The Wall to photograph this year's tree, but it was not to be.

So, here is a a pic from trees past, this one from 2016.

As you can see from the pic, Wreaths Across America not only honors each marker in Arlington National Cemetery (253,000,) as well as other cemeteries across the land, they also honor The Wall and many other memorials.

 

I did not take this pic of Arlington National Cemetery but I found it on the Wreaths Across America page.

I encourage you to look into this organization and help them if you can.

This year they placed 253,000 wreaths at ANC and thousand more across the nation. they are always in need of donations, people to help place the wreaths and even more to help clean up later in January.

So, if you can...

https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/

Next time, on the 28th, as promised previously, I'll share some of the outstanding balloons from Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. So meet me there at 9:00am, as always.

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