Texas XI

116 miles west of Dallas is the town of Ranger. I knew they had a memorial there so I headed in that direction. The memorial was located in a small park and was easy to find. Ranger is a really small town. It had a population of under 2500 in the 2010 census and as I have said so many times before, I was amazed at what small towns manage to do for their own. I have been to states that have no official state memorial and yet, these small communities manage to find a way to honor their sons and daughters.

It was a bright and hot day and the usual issues with reflection were rampant but the memorial still shines through honoring those from the area.

The back names those involved in the project and what appears to be additional names, as so often happens, added later. I read that this was dedicated in 2007.

Nearby, this reminded of the POW/MIAs stands guard.

 

A short distance away, in the same park, I found this older, more general, remembrance for those who served. It is dated 1998.

A word of warning if you decide to visit this memorial. I was cited by the local police for exceeding the speed limit by 5 miles an hour. This happened in a practically stereotypical speed trap. The cop was uncommunicative and unfriendly, rude actually. He insisted that the fine would be $105 dollars, but after paying all the "fees" for paying by phone, using a Visa card and several other nonsensical fees, it was nearly $200 dollars, so be careful if you go!

Next time, on May 1, we will travel back to Virginia, so join me there, as usual at 9:00am

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