South Dakota XII

This is the second in a series of posts from the Vietnam in our words exhibit at the Old Court House Museum in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. If you missed the first one, just scroll down to South Dakota XI.

 

A map explains the various geographic elements throughout the country. It explains various weather conditions and their impact in different areas.

A large timeline highlights various important events throughout the war.

Awards, decorations and medals are displayed here.

The "new" jungle fatigues were introduced in October of '67. I had been there since April and, man, were they a welcome relief. They were a marked improvement on the older type were had been wearing; much lighter and thankfully, cooler.

The accompanying sign fills in some details. I never knew that there were three different issues of these uniforms.

Credit where credit is due. It is often said that 22 (Or 31 depending on whom you read) nations participated in the war, but these are the ones that actually put "Boots on the ground!" Oddly, Canada, who lost 100 men, is not listed. No one, yet, lists Ireland who was not officially involved, but it is now known that 19 of the names on the Wall in DC, (one a nurse counted as on of the 8 women) are Irish citizens. They are among the 100's that came to the US specifically to join the military and fight in 'Nam. Their story is being told on a new monument being constructed in Ennis, Ireland. Ennis will actually be the second Vietnam Memorial in Ireland. The first is at Adare Manor in Kilarney and you can find more about it on this site. I hope to get back to Ireland one day to honor and photograph these sites.

Next time, on the 17th, I will continue with some more from this site in South Dakota. So, join me at 9:00am for the next installment.

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