Georgia XXIII

For some personal reason, I have not been able to travel as much as I would like. As a result I find myself resorting to spending time reviewing trips and photographs that I have taken in the past.

This is not always a bad thing. I often find things I may have over looked or forgotten to come back to for another look.

Today, I was looking over some pics from trips to Georgia. I have been there a couple of times and noticed some details in pics I think are worth sharing. As is often the case, these details are frequently in the faces I find in the memorials.

Long time readers know that faces are important to me. They bring home in a stark manner the trials and horrors of war.

These come from the haunting memorial at Roswell:

The original posts from Roswell may be seen here and here.

To see additional memorials from Georgia, or any other state, please click on a state name on then left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list of states.

Next time, on the 1st of July, we will return to Maryland, so, as always, join me there at 9:00 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a  number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron, and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Florida XXVI

 

I've been to Key West several times. The first time there was only a simple stone memorial sitting, seemingly, alone in the sand.

Then a brand new site was created. I have featured the new site here in the past (You can see that post here.) The second picture on the previous site is of the original memorial mentioned above.

These Faces of Remembrance are taken from the larger memorial. These types of renditions are most often the prevalent type as actual likenesses can create legal issues. So, when you come across actual photos or sculptures of specific individuals it is rare, often complicated, and involves lots of permissions not always easy to obtain.

Pulling the faces from the larger photo was not successful. This is the best I can do, not nearly good enough.

So, to attempt a better tribute to those from Key West, I tried this one and it is only marginally better, but better.

Then I noticed a pic that was dark enough that I had skipped right over it in the past. I had much more luck with this one.

The light lines through the pic are part of are a presentation of the flag.

Next time, on the 26th, we will revisit Georgia, so, join me there, as always, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Florida, or any other state, please click on a state name from the list at the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a  number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron, and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Delaware XXVI

A short walk from the last post from Dover is a memorial to the women from the state who have served our country.

I had a little problem tracking it down due to my sketchy information about its location. However, a nice guy leading what appeared to be a school group knew precisely where it was and sent me on my way.

 

In my last post I highlighted the service of our sisters in 'Nam and here are a few more along side of their sisters-in-arms from other conflicts.

Once again, I salute all the women who have served over the years and especially those who stood so very tall in 'Nam. (See a post about the belated acknowledgement of the WASP service in WWII here.)

The memorial is located at the intersection of Legislative Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard North, on the right when traveling north.

Next time, on the 21st, we will return to Florida where I will attempt to pull some faces from the memorial in Key West, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00 am. and we will see if it worked!

To visit other memorials from Delaware, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a  number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron, and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Colorado XLI

I've been thinking a lot recently about the women who served with us in 'Nam. In a past post I spelled out some details about just how many there were and how many were lost. We are probably all aware of the eight nurses listed on the wall, but many others were lost, too. You can see that post here.

I have just finished reading Kristin Hannah's book, The Women and while it is a novel and has a number of intertwined story lines, I must say that when it comes to 'Nam and the women who served, she gets much of it right. I recommend you read it.

So, as I was looking for something to post from Colorado, I came across these pics from Fountain Valley and decided to share them with you today.

After reading MS Hannah's book it got me thinking about real heroes and these women, especially the Nurses, certainly qualify. We all saw what we saw, did what we did, but these valiant, brave and noble women saw it day after day after day after day. they, too, were treated badly upon return and to this day receive even less recognition and honor than the rest of us do. 

Look through this site and see how very few memorials are dedicated solely to the service of women.

If you get a chance, look up MS Hannah's book: The women.

Next time, on the 16th, we will return to Delaware, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Colorado, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron, and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

California LVI

Before beginning today, I want to salute and honor those who fought and died on this date eighty years ago. helping to bring an end to the war and Fascism in Europe they became, rightly, called The Greatest Generation. We owe them our everlasting respect and gratitude. 

Take a moment today to recall their sacrifices.

It seems fitting that California has the greatest number of posts on this site as the state has the highest number of her citizens lost in the war. No one really knows which state has the actual greatest number of memorials or for that matter how many memorials there are in the Country.

Vietnam Veterans of America tried to keep track of all this but eventually had to give up the effort.

One of the first I saw in the state, back in 2011, was in Westminster in Sid Goldstein Freedom Park. At the time it consisted of  the plaza, statue and flame you see below and was quite impressive.

Today, I want to feature, as I so often do, the faces of the soldiers from the statues here. For those unfamiliar, I call this effort, this sub-grouping of photos, The Faces of Remembrance Series inspired by the effort to gather a actual photograph of every name on The Wall. This effort was begun in 2001 and completed in 2022 with the goal of featuring them all at the (now defunct) Education Center to be built near The Wall. All photos can be found at the VVMF's Wall of Faces on-line.

My efforts are a mixture of photos, sculpture, and other likenesses that I find on my journeys.

On a trip last year I was amazed at how much has been added to the site and I will feature these additions as time goes on.

Next time, on the 11th, we will venture back to Colorado, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from California, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Tim from Virginia, Mike from Maryland, Ron and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Arizona XXXVII

 Last time we visited Arizona, I shared the billboard like memorial in San Manuel. Today, I want to share a few of the faces featured and honored upon it.

These three are the first of the several I will feature over time. An interesting side note is that while looking into who they were, I found that only the third one featured here (Bateman) has any mention of Arizona in the very little I could find written about them. The other two are from elsewhere: Garrett (Texas) and Arriaga (Hawai'i'.) A mystery. If you can help solve it I would love to hear from you. Check the email on the left.

Next time, on the 6th of June, we will return to California, so join me there, as always, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Arizona, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been recently added to the list.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.