California XVII

In Los Angeles there is a unique tribute to Vietnam vets.

In Hawaii, it seems that Americans of Japanese descent wanted to build a memorial to the 117 heroes who died in 'Nam. The usual processes were followed; meetings, planning, publicity, fund-raising etc. When all was complete, it became apparent that no site for the memorial could be found within our 50th state. It seemed that the project was doomed. However, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in L.A. heard of the problem and said, "We have the space, build it here." and that is what happened.

I had read about the site several times but was always unable to get there when in California. This time I determined that it would be my first stop. I flew from the east coast to the west, rented a car, programmed the GPS and headed out. The site is less than 20 miles from the airport, but all of the airport stuff and the famous LA traffic, took so long that as I neared the site, it became obvious that the light of day was fading far too quickly.

I decided to find it anyway so that I could, at least, see it and honor it. After a little difficulty and some directions from a local, I found it. I decided to try to get some pics, anyway and, like the project itself, it all worked out.

The memorial is part of the Memorial Court which faces on San Pedro Street and includes memorials to those who participated in other of America's wars, too.

The exact address is 244 San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, Ca.

More info may be found here;

http://www.jaccc.org/memorial.php

Next time, on the 20th, we will take another trip to Florida, so, I'll see you there, as always, at 9:00am.

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