Washington VII

I guess to my frequent readers I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but, once again, I need to extol the people of small towns,

I was in Ephrata, Washington and found this memorial on the Grant County Court House lawn. At first glance one might not think too much of it, but in reading up on it I discovered that it was funded by raffles and Bingos and some direct contributions. In the 2010 census, Ephrata had 7664 citizens and they found away to honor their Vietnam vets.

 Another astounding thing I noticed. The memorial lists those who served in addition to those who were lost, a total of twenty.

Nine, 45%, were lost! Think about that for just a moment. If 45% of all who served in 'Nam had been lost the number would be about 1,500,000. Staggering! That number, by the way, is more than the estimated losses from ALL American wars from the Revolution through today. Again, staggering.

So, I will once again salute the small towns of America, their people, their heroes and their dedication to honoring their sons and daughters.

 The memorial may be found on the front lawn of the Court House, 35 C Street, Ephrata, Washington.

Next time, on the 29th, meet me again in Arizona, as always, at 9:00am.

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