Seasons Greetings 2023 #2

I live in a moderately cold climate, so I thought it might be nice to share some warm climate photos.

These were all taken in Arizona and before anybody gets too worked up, I know that Arizona can have all kinds of weather, not all of it warm. I have seen thick ice covering buildings and statues, snow at times and monsoons during the season. However, my overall experience here as been more good than bad. 

So, just enjoy.

Next time, on the 2nd, one more seasonal diversion, then back to Vietnam memorials and a new year.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state, please click on a 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

Seasons Greetings 2023 #1

Happy holidays to all who celebrate Christmas or any of the many other holidays from around the world that occur at this time of year.

 

I counted several different totals from different lists, so I won't try to mention a specif number. Suffice it to say that many cultures celebrate some kind of recognition of returning light to the world.

 

Wishing you all the best

 

l

Come back on the 27th for something else. It will be a continuation of my efforts to post pictures about something other than Vietnam.

See you then at 9:00 am.

West Virginia XVIII

We will visit Morgantown HS in West Virginia again today and often until I can honor all of the men remembered here. As I have mentioned before, West Virginia lost more soldiers, per capita, then any other state and they deserve to be paid tribute.

It is unusual for a memorial to feature the pictures of all those honored and I would like to take advantage of the fact that Morgantown has opted to do just that.

This, of course, fits right into my sub-group: Faces of Remembrance.

So, as we head into a season of other distractions, take just a moment to remember these men and all the others whose families will experience another season without them.

R.I.P. brothers and sisters, you will live in our hearts forever.

Next time, on the 23rd, I will post some non-memorial pics to hopefully lighten the season (and to, once again, remind myself (and you) that I do other photography.

To see additional memorials from West Virginia, or any other state, please click on a 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

Pennsylvania XLII

 In my ongoing subset of memorial photos those of you who are regulars here (thank you) know that I feature the faces of the soldiers I find at memorials that elected to include statues, graphics or other depictions of those who served.

 

Today, I will share the face of the statue found at the beautiful Pottstown memorial.

 

 

 

It is unusual for me to post a whole photo in this Faces of remembrance series, but I wanted to point out this soldiers hand. It is supposed to be reaching out to viewers and it is said that many actually take his hand and shake it, as in greeting. Here, as I am sure I have mentioned previously, some have left artifacts: a rosary and an unknown (to me) article of some sort.

Also interesting is that this soldier is actually modeled on the brother of one of the lost listed here. This is unusual, too, as artists most often create completely fictional faces or sometimes, composites of a number of people to avoid issues down the road.

 

It astonishes me how artists, sculptors in this case, can capture so much emotion in metal, stone, or whatever their medium of choice might be. The sadness, or loneliness or resolve capture here are amazing.

Next time, on the 18th, we will visit one more memorial before I revert to my yearly habit of featuring photos of something other than memorials. It seems appropriate to celebrate the season with something more upbeat each year. So, meet me on the 18th, as usual at 9:00am, to check out a visit to West Virginia to honor several more of the lost from Morgantown High School.

 

To see additional memorials from Pennsylvania, or any other state, please click on a 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

 

 

Oregon XXI

 As many of you know from following along, I often go back to my files to see what I have from previous sites. Many times these sites are quite large and have numerous features that deserve to be highlighted. IN fact I frequently promise to return to sites, but other things seem to get in the way.

Today, I have been browsing through some pictures from Albany, Oregon and thought I would share a couple of more with you.

Albany, as stated in the original post lies about 70 miles south of Portland. You can check out that post here.

These are just a few of the features here.

In the previous post from this site, I mentioned that someone had hung jingle bells from the POW/MIA marker and then forgot to include a picture. Better late than never since it is, once again, the right time of the year..

I, also, just read this evening that the site has, once again, been vandalized. It appears that someone ran into one of the brick display cases with a  vehicle of some sort. It happened last winter, so I hope it has been successfully repaired by now. 

Next time, on the 13th, we will return to the east coast, specifically Pennsylvania. Join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Oregon, 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

Oklahoma IX

I keep being brought back to this memorial in Oklahoma City, at the Capitol.

There are several of these Bas Relief plaques (seen below) throughout the site and I thought I might try to draw out a few more of the faces from them.

This is always a bit of an imprecise exercise for me, but I will give it a shot.

As you can see from the above shot, there are several of the aforementioned Bas Relief scenes here. The following pictures were cropped out of the larger versions.

 

Each of these looses a bit in the cropping and necessary enlarging process, but the fatigue, stress, and melancholy cannot be missed or over looked. 

I will point out again that the "Big Guy" , on the right, used to greet visitors to this site, but when the town of Enid dedicated a facsimile of The Wall, the state moved him to Enid and designated the site as the official Oklahoma Vietnam memorial.

Next time, on the 8th, we will revisit Oregon, so join me there, as usual at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Oklahoma, 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