Louisiana VIII

I am always on the lookout for a memorial to become the "official" memorial of a state that does not have one. I have written before about the two memorials in New Orleans and several others throughout the state, but none of these are designated by Louisiana as the "Official" Vietnam memorial.

One of the criteria I use when trying to decide which memorials to include on these pages is; "Does it list names?" If a site lists all the names from a state, then that goes a long way towards my being comfortable calling it an "Official" memorial.

South of new Orleans, about 15 miles, is the Resthaven Park Cemetery and in 2012, just such a memorial was dedicated.

It names the 882 KIA and the 38 MIAs from Louisiana. So far, the only one I have found that does this. I have mentioned before that the one at the Super Dome has been reported to list names, but in my several visits to the site, I have never found them. Here, there are listed and a number of etched scenes that will be familiar to vets and others on either of the two upright stones that make up this memorial.

Called the Louisiana Vietnam Veterans Reflections Monument, it stands, slightly raised in the cemetery. This was a good thing the day I was there as most of the cemetery was under water, (Not uncommon in many places Louisiana, at times) In addition, there are several pieces of military equipment nearby, there, too are from 'Nam.

Located on Highway 90 in Avondale, the exact address is 3450, although it is easy to find once in the area. On 90, coming from N.O. it is on the right side of the road.

So, while this is not an "Official" memorial, it is the closest I have found.

Next time, I will share a few more photos from this site. Join me there on the 28th at 9:00am.

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