Arkansas II

"Inside" the memorial are some interesting views. Here is another of the soldier and a couple of The Wall itself. I have written before about how so many of these sites are designed to help us reflect on the magnitude of the war, the sacrifice and the loss of those involved. This one is no different, the names here, seen in two different views are, as always, compelling and heartbreaking and the reflection often includes oneself and forces one to contemplate. In my case, like so many other vets, I wonder, "Why is it that I was spared and these were not?"

You can, also, see why the numbers in the previous post differ. It is not at all unusual for names to be discovered after the sites are complete and you can see how they dealt with that issue here. The seven who have been added over the years are of those whose families showed that they were from Arkansas but may have moved elsewhere. These, then may well be listed on other memorials in other places, too. This speaks, I think, to a phenomenon that I have referenced before; we have gone, over the years, from being ignored to being honored in many ways and it seems places!

I wrote a couple of months back that 10 additional names were added to the Wall in D.C. this past May. It seems that no matter how hard the planners try, some are always added later. Some of you may know that I am involved with trying to build a memorial in my town; I hope that we are able to include all that were lost the first time around.

I mentioned in the last post that I had talked with the Historian for Arkansas. One of the things he told me was that a name had been added, this year, to the War of 1812 memorial on the grounds! So, for those of us who care and believe that remembrance of the sacrifice of others in important, the work goes on.

Next time, on the 14th, we will visit a Medal of Honor memorial on the same grounds as the Vietnam Memorial. Nick Bacon, the last living MOH awardee (from Arkansas) died in 2008, but his story should be told forever. Check it out at 9:00am on the 14th.