Arizona XLIII

Arizona, as you know if you follow along, is a place I visit often. It is rich with memorials. 

Today, I will feature three from Willcox, deep in the southern part of the state.

Memorial at Willcox

Six were lost from Willcox, one is MIA.

Joe Robert Lawrence

PFC Joe Lawrence was on patrol with his Marine unit when he was lost to "small arms fire..." He died in the Quang Nam Province on October 1, 1968. He had moved from Texas to Willcox when he was four and lived there with his family for fourteen years.

William Clint Dickerson

SSGT. William Dickerson was lost in the Binh Dinh Province. His death was considered an accident as a hand grenade exploded killing him. He was lost on May 13, 1969.

SP5 Armando Ramirez was lost on May 23, 1969.  As far as I can tell, he is still MIA. He was a door gunner on a chopper in Cambodia and is credited with saving American soldiers. His chopper was lost and his body has not been recovered.

All of these men were from Willcox, Arizona.

Next time, on August 1st, we will return to Arkansas, so join me, as always, at 9 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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen (now three) from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/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 ed in Neillsville. The site was chosen because the and I will gladly share them here. 

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Season's Greetings #3 (2025/6)

So, I am up and running (walking, limping... you get the idea) so, I will finish off the variations from normal memorial postings today.

Today's pics come from a December trip to Arizona. I went to see various illuminations in Tubac, the botanical Garden in Tucson, and the Illuminations at Tohono Chul in north western Tucson. All were worth the trip.

I did not go to photograph them, simply to enjoy, so no "good " cameras went along. 

However, some of the sights were cool enough that I had to snap a few with my phone.

Today, to kick off this new year, a few of those.

Enjoy!

Tohono Chul horse sculpture as a Reindeer

Above photo illuminated

Next time on the 11th, we will return to Kentucky and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual 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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/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.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Arizona XLII

 

As I have said before, Arizona is one of my most visited states. In looking over things to post, I realized I could spend an awful lot of time writing only about the memorials I have visited in the state.

Bisbee is one of my favorite cities in Arizona. It is quirky and interesting and beautiful and it is south of Tucson, only 12 miles from Mexico.

Last time I was there I visited Bisbee High School and saw the memorial to their 7 students who were lost in 'Nam. Between 1960 and 1970 Bisbee's population decreased from nearly 10,000 to a little more than 8,000. 7 just seems like a lot, to me, for such a small town.

Leonard Douglas Davis

Today, three of them: 

2LT Leonard Davis and his men attempted to recover the bodies of 4 of their comrades. Coming under intense machine gun fire and incoming mortars, LT Davis was lost on August 2, 1966 in the La Drang Valley.

Richard Allen Thursby

SSGT Richard Thursby was in the Gia Dinh Province when some kind of accident involving grenades took his, and two comrades, lives on April 1, 1969.

Leonard Carabeo

LCPL Leonard Carabeo was lost to small arms fire in Quang Tri Province little information is available. 

It is shocking to me that so little is available to honor these, mostly, young heroes.

He was lost on April 28, 1968

Next time, on October 9th, we will return to Arkansas, to honor others so worthy of our admiration and never ending respect. Join me there, at 9:00 am., as always.

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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/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.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Arizona XLI

It would be difficult to name a soldier more associated with the Vietnam war than John McCain.

It is fitting then that the city of Peoria, in his home state of Arizona, has dedicated the John McCain Memorial Plaza in his memory.

Today, I will share just a couple of introductory photos from this marvelous and beautiful site. There will be more to follow.

Included as part of the Rio Vista Park it is well worth a visit, you could spend many hours here.

I noticed that these flags were at half staff and wondered if they were always lowered in tribute?  I called the City and was told that this was only the case on certain times as directed. Then I looked at the date I actually took the picture and it was September 10th, so the reason became obvious.

No matter how you might of felt about Senator McCain's politics or policies, no one can diminish his bravery, patriotism, or sacrifice.

I think anyone, no matter left of right, could learn something from him.

There will be more photos from Peoria in the not too distant future. Check back often.

In the meantime I will be posting from California on the 2nd of March, as always at 9:00 a.m., so join me then.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state or Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! 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.

Seasons Greetings 2024 #1

This is my first of what will be several, probably 3 or perhaps 4, non-memorial based posts over the holidays.

It does not see right to me to concentrate on the loss of our buddies, known and unknown, at a time that is supposed to be celabratory.

So, in keeping with my past deviations from the norm, as they used to say on Monty Python,

Now for something truly different!

In my travels I frequently run across things that interest me and today, it is old cars. I have always loved these old beauties and couldn't pass up the chance to grab a few shots.

1930 ford

1931 Ford

1930 Chevy

Found all of these in Arizona and they are actually used as advertising for a company there. 

Next time, on the 23rd, check back to see what else I can come up with that may interest you. As always, at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! 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 XL

Arizona, as you know if you follow along, is one of my most visited states because my wife does a lot of business there, so we visit at least yearly if not more often.

The state like most western states is huge which presents obvious problems for me as most of her visits are work is in the southern end of the state.

There are memorials in other parts of the state that are just not within driving distance for me. I have planned trips to these more far reaching areas but events beyond my control have caused those efforts to fail. I will make additional attempts.

Today, I want to return to Eloy, as previously promised, which lies between Tucson and Phoenix just off I-10.

The Eloy Vet Center has an extensive memorial site. You can see previous posts from it here and here.

This lone soldier is highlighted here.

As is my holiday custom, next time on the 18th, and for a couple of posts beyond that I will take a break from featuring memorials and post other pics I hope you will enjoy. This, I think, allows us to stay in touch but more easily enjoy the seasons. It also allows me to reassure myself that I am not a one dimensional photographer. So return, as always at 9:00 am and see what I have found.

To see additional memorials from Arizona, or any other state, please click 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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! 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 XXXIX

One last trip to San Manuel to honor the last two faces on the roadside memorial found there.

I will be back in Arizona sometime next Spring, I hope to find new sites there.

Next time, on November 4th, we will return to California, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Arizona, or any other state, please click 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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! 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 XXXVIII

Arizona is, as you know, a frequent stop on this journey. Business takes me there at least a time or two a year, thus providing me many opportunities to check out memorials and tributes on nearly every trip.

Over the years I began to notice and feature the faces found on various statues and other memorials along the way that I began calling Faces of Remembrance. There are quite a few of them on this site now, That led to discovering some, actually a very few, that actually presented the faces of some of those lost or missing.

These became a priority.

Today we once again return to San Manuel, AZ to honor a few more.

This somewhat unique memorial is much like a billboard listing names on one side and photos on the other.

These two share a name and their heroism. I could find no indication that they might be related and, after all, Garcia is an extremely common last name inn the American southwest.

Regardless, we honor them.

Next time, on September 10th, we will cross back over in to California, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Arizona, or any other state, please click 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 from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! 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.

Arizona XXXVI

I traveled along the road in San Manuel several time before I realized what I though was just a sign on the side of the road was actually a memorial to those who were lost in 'Nam.

 

Seven young men from the surrounding area gave all in 'Nam and are remembered and honored here.  I have some fears as the gas station seems to be abandoned, so I wonder who will watch over these heroes, although this seems to be in pretty good shape. I hope it remains that way.

I will return to this site to feature the men here in the not too distant future.

San Manuel is located about 45 miles northeast of Tucson and was originally built as a company town for a Copper mining outfit. In 2010 it had a population of 3551.

Next time, on the 27th, we will return to California, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

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

As always, I will ask anyone who has seen Vietnam memorials that are NOT seen here to please send them to me. I will be more than happy to share your photos and any information you may have about them. Recently Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Ron from Florida and a number of others have been kind enough to do this. You make this site better, more complete and I certainly appreciate your input. So, send them to the email on the left od to my personal email: ldddad@comcast.net.

Arizona XXXV

I read somewhere about a memorial in Globe, Arizona. so, on my most recent trip, I drove the 100 plus miles from Tucson into beautiful, mountainous mining country in Gila County.

What ever I read had said it was a Vietnam memorial but when I found it on E. Ash Street, it turned out to be a more general memorial to all who have served.

It is beautiful never the less and after driving the more than 200 miles round trip, I figured I would include it here, anyway.

It was also, very hard to actually photograph. In addition to the extremely bright sun reflecting off the black surfaces, it was positioned so that I could not access all of the tributes.

This faces honors the U.S, Army: the first of America's fighting forces.

Here, the Marines are honored and the other non photo-graphable sides honor the other services.

I had hoped that this smaller feature was going to name those lost. globe only has a bit over 7,000 people so it seemed possible.

However, it lists a number of sponsors and actually speaks to the dedication and support of the local community.

Again, I am touched by the efforts of small towns.

Next time, on the 17th, we will revisit California, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see add additional memorials from Arizona, or any other state, please click 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 #3

So, this is the third (and final for this year) diversionary post. Just a few more pics of things other than the memorials to our brothers and sisters lost in 'Nam. As stated before I think it is healthy to take a break and just perhaps concentrate on things of beauty, if only for a short time.

We think of the desert as a mostly barren and desolate place. Inhabited mostly by creepy crawlies, sand and cacti. While this is true, it is also true that each of the above photos was taken in the desert of the American southwest, mostly Arizona. the last picture is of a Barrel Cacti in bloom. Most Cacti bloom at some time of the year and they are all quite beautiful.

Next time, on the 7th, we will return to honoring our lost and missing comrades. Join me in Wisconsin, as always at 9:00 am.

To see Vietnam memorials in any state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page.

And, Happy New Year to you all!!

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 #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

Arizona XXXIV

Last time we visited Arizona, I shared a few pictures from the Eloy Vet Center. You can see that post here.

Directly across the street from the center is this small area donated by the city. It is considered a reflection/meditation spot and is really quite calming.

Caught between two buildings, I would have easily missed it if the guys at the Center had not offered to take me over to visit.

 

Murals cover the side of the one building.

Detail from the above mural.

It is not clearly stated anywhere, but these "always soldiers" sure seem to represent those of us who served in 'Nam. 

More general is this "Thank you" to those who severed, no matter when. It is a little hard to see but it is written in script at the lower left of the picture, under the arm of the saluting soldier.

There will be more pictures from this quite extensive site in the future, so be on the watch for them.

Next time, on the 1st of October, we will revisit California, so join me there, as always at 9:00am.

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

If you follow along here you know that I always ask readers to send me any memorials, that I have not featured here, that they may have seen, just like Joan, Anthony, Molly and others, I promise to give photo credits (which might only matter to professionals) and hope that some might do so. A number of you have honored me and our fellow vets by doing just that and I hope this will encourage more of you to get in touch.

If you have photos, please send them to the address at the right side of this page.

Arizona XXXIII

For many years Eloy has been nothing more than a name on a sign as I headed from Tucson to Phoenix and beyond. Now, it has become dear to me.

I read somewhere that they had some kind of a memorial there and on a recent trip, I decided to check it out.

I drove into the outskirts of the town off the highway and it seemed to be a quiet, hot, a bit dusty small town. I found the Vet center almost immediately and was just astounded by what they have done.

For the umpteenth time on this site I will celebrate what so many small towns do for their vets.

This beautiful, open, plaza like area is entirely dedicated to vets. The side of the building you can see on the left is the Vet Center. The guys in the center were great. We spent quite some time talking about the memorial park and the cooperation between the town and the center to get this built.

These pillars list the name sof many who were lost, but without designations as to which war, branch of service of date of loss: just honoring the names of those who gave all.

It always interest me when I find the "homemade" along with what I call, without prejudice or and negativity, "corporate" reminders of the price so many have apid. I love them all.

There is so much more here and I promise to return at a later date with additional photos from here and a more intimate setting I would have never known about if the guys here had not shared it with me.

For a town of under 16,000, Eloy has done a remarkable and touching job of honoring and remembering her veterans.

Eloy is about 50 miles up US 10 from Tucson.

An interesting side note I ran across is that the name Eloy comes from an abbreviation from the railroads. It stands for East Line of Yuma. As the building project creating the east line progressed it became easier to write Eloy than spelling out the entire name. The name first appeared on a railroad map in 1909.

Next time, on the 28th, we will take another trip to Arkansas, so meet me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Arizona, 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.