North Carolina XX

Lawrence Joel was a medic in 'Nam. He was shot twice, bandaged his own wounds and continued to aid his fellow soldiers.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the first medic to ever receive it and the first African American to receive it since the Spanish American war. He was also awarded the Silver Star.

He is credited with saving more than a dozen lives.

Read more of his heroic story here, it is a remarkable story.

He was from Winston Salem, North Carolina and in the 1980s a coliseum was built and named to honor him. It was the home to Wake Forest basketball among other things.

 

Outside the stadium are hundreds of  markers with the names of those lost in numerous wars. It is an amazing sight.

 

Not sure if everyone has heard the term Carolina Blue for the sky, but this pic does a pretty good job of representing it.

About 500 lost soldiers are honored here, many from Vietnam.

Next time, on the 3rd of February, we will revisit Ohio, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

New York XXVIII

I have written before about my nearly 50 year search for my buddy John and how he took me to the memorial in his home town.

I read recently the the memorial celebrated its 50th anniversary not too long ago, so I decided to have another look and realized that I had not featured the women's memorial at the site. 

It is not specifically Vietnam, but it is part of the larger memorial so I decided to see of I could pull the women's faces from it to share here.

Its not surprising that this process met with somewhat mixed results.

All that aside, however, I wish to, once again, honor the women who served with us.

United States Army

United States Marine Corp

United States Air Force

United States Coast Guard

United States Navy

I write on occasion that beyond the eight women listed on The Wall, some 56 other American women were killed while serving in some capacity in 'Nam. they were civilians all attempting to better the situation and lives of those affected by the war. You can read more about them here. they, too, are heroes, all. Check them out and be thankful that such people exist.

Next time, on the 29th, we will take another look at North Carolina. So, join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

New Mexico XXIII

Got a late start today, so this is posting a couple of hours later than usual. Hope to be back on schedule on the next post.

It is said that the New Mexico slogan, Land of Enchantment, comes from Las Cruces. Stunningly beautiful, it more than lives up to this compliment. 

In addition to its natural beauty Las Cruces has quite a remarkable Veterans Park. I have posted from here in the past and promised to return for additional posts. You can see those earlier posts here and here.

 

Some of these new pics come from my visit to the park while the Vietnam memorial seen above was still being planned, so some may seem redundant or perhaps insufficient.  Trust me, they did a great job on the stand alone 'Nam memorial.

 

 

 

This is a place that deserves a visit should you find yourself in the area. It is located at 2651 Roadrunner Parkway.

Next time, on the 24th, we will revisit New York, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

Nebraska XVIII

 As is so often the case these days, I have been looking through photos in hopes of finding something interesting to share.

I happened onto some pics from the wonderful Veterans Park in Lincoln, Nebraska and came upon this memorial to dogs. If you follow me, you know that I have a particularly soft spot for dogs. I had one in "Nam, not a military dog, just a Shepherd mix that belonged to my unit. She adopted me the day I arrived and basically never left my side. I tried to bring her home, but the plans fell through, and she remained with the unit.

It got me thinking about dogs and how they may have served the military over the years. History tells us that dogs have been used in war throughout history, so it surprised me a bit to learn that the U.S. did not "formalize" their service until 1942.

Many breeds of dogs were trained and used in different capacities, as seen on this memorial.

The glare on this polished stone makes it a little difficult to see that the three dogs are a Sheperd, a Collie and a Doberman. Each breed had its strengths and weaknesses and these three represent all the other breeds that served. 

About 4,000 dogs ended up serving in 'Nam, about 350 were killed, about 200 eventually made it home and the others were turned over the ARVN, euthanized, or simply abandoned as excess equipment.

Many troops were enraged by the abandonment and in 2,000 a law was passed that dogs would no longer be left behind.

A vet is quoted as saying that " if it weren't for these dogs there would be at least 10,000 more names on The Wall.

Here are a few of the names of dogs honored here.

Next time, on the 19th, we will revisit New Mexico, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

Missouri X

Back in 2012 I posted from St. Peter's, Missouri about a privately built memorial to all those lost or MIA from 'Nam. Please go here to check out that original post.

Today as I continue to search for memorials across the country and through my many photos from over the years, I have returned to this post to attempt to highlight the one face I had any luck (though not that much) pulling from the site.

The face is taken, obviously, from the larger plaque that commemorated the service and sacrifice of the 1423 names currently listed on The Wall.

The face, as always=, is representative, but I believe that you can see resignation in it.

It did not, as is too often the case translate well from the larger picture, but even so the look is there.

I hope in the not-too-distant future to be able to return to Missouri as I have read The College of the Ozarks has created a memorial reminiscent of The Wall in DC. honoring the 1423, which coincidentally is almost the exact enrollment of the college.

Next time, on the 14th, we will revisit Nebraska to highlight some of the memorials in their extensive Veterans Park in Lincoln., so as always, join me there at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

Maryland XXXVI

A number of years ago I was asked to address a group of English students visiting Washington DC. These students save and funds raise for years and years to be able to make the annual "Senior trip" to Washington.

The 50 or so students and their accompanying teachers had visited The Wall and were now eager to learn more about it, the war, and those who served.

One of the other speakers was Charlie Shyab, who it turns out was a Conscientious Objector due to his Adventist religious beliefs. Charlie served as a medic in 'Nam and many years later was responsible for a memorial being built on the campus of Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Maryland.

I promised him that I would check it out, and today I fulfill that promise.

He told me about the times he had to set aside his beliefs and actually fire a weapon because the life of the wounded soldier he was trying to save depended on it. This must have been a terribly difficult decision for him. He also told me of the times his men surrounded him to fight off the enemy so that he could continue trying to save a fellow soldier. Remarkable dedication and bravery, though I think he would cringe at my saying so.

I got to thinking about all this and tried for quite some time to find more information on COs. Turns out that 171,000 men were designated as COs during Vietnam, but it was hard to find specific information as to how many actually served and/or were lost. 

I eventually came upon and article that helped clear up the mystery to a certain degree. the article only dealt with Adventists, but the numbers were listed. Just for interesting reference, 148 is more than a few states.                                                              

                                                                                                         Alaska 57

                                                                                                         Vermont 100

Wyoming 119

Delaware 122

                    Nevada 150 (pretty close)

After these, the numbers jump substantially to 195 and beyond, but you can see the sacrifice of these good men, these good soldiers.

While these numbers only speak to the Adventists, it is important to remember that many religions take a similar stand when it comes to war, for instance the Mennonites, the Amish, and Jehovah's Witnesses to name but a few. I have not seen the numbers from these groups.

Anyway, Charlie was able to get a memorial built at the University. It is dedicated to all who were lost in any war, but Charlie is a 'Nam vet and I am honored to include it here.

So, the next time you hear somebody badmouthing Conscientious Objectors, tell them about these guys or direct them here. Everything I have ever read about the CO medics in 'Nam speaks to their bravery and dedication to their fellow soldiers and that they are held in the highest esteem by those who should know: the men and women they served with and whose lives they saved on uncountable occasions.

Next time, on the 9th, we will venture back to Missouri, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

Update: Don't know why the states listed above will not stay properly aligned, I have corrected, but they will not cooperate. Sorry!