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 XXVI

While visiting the high school in Bisbee, the Principal told me about one of their graduates who had been a sports star at the school. He went on to explain that they had a memorial of sorts to him over in the gym area.

He was killed in Vietnam.

His name was Leonard Carabeo and was a track star. In fact, his team won the New Mexico State Championship in 1967, not too long before he shipped off to Vietnam.

The memorial, just outside the gym, has his letter jacket and some medals.

A picture of the team, that's him holding the trophy

It also has this picture of him, perhaps in 'Nam.

I found a letter on the Wall of Faces tribute page. It was written be a guy he was in training with in the Marine Corps.

Here is an excerpt:

"Leonard loved to run. He would smile from ear to ear while we were making 3 mile runs with rifles and full combat gear. He told me he could have attended college on a track scholarship, be he decided to enlist to help support his family. Our Drill instructors hated to see anyone smiling. Smiling meant you were enjoying something and that was forbidden in Boot Camp. At the end of one of our daily runs, everyone in the platoon was sweating and trying to catch our breath. Everyone except Leonard, he was standing at the back of the formation just looking around and smiling. One of the Drill Instructors saw Leonard smiling and decided to teach him a lesson. He told Leonard "If you enjoyed that little trip, we can make sure you have more fun". He got another Drill instructor and told him to run with Leonard around the entire perimeter of the San Diego Recruit Depot. A while later Leonard came trotting in to the platoon area with a smile on his face and a puffing and panting Drill Instructor following behind. The Senior Drill instructor went berserk. He got another DI to run Leonard around the perimeter again. It wasn't long and Leonard was standing back in our area with a smile on his face. Now, the Senior DI decided to take charge. He changed into his utility pants and t-shirt, put on his Smokey the Bear hat and took off running around the perimeter with Leonard following behind. Soon, Leonard was back, but the Senior DI wasn't even in sight. Leonard stood around for a while and finally one of the other DIs just told him to get back to his squad. After that episode, the DIs didn't mess with Leonard when he smiled."

Sounds like quite a guy. Semper Fi, Marine.

Join me next time, on the 23rd, when we revisit California. Join me there at 9:00am, as always.

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

Arizona XXV

Bisbee, Arizona lies about 90 miles south of Tucson and about eleven miles north of the Mexican border. It once boasted a population of nearly 10,000. but as of the 2010 census that number has fallen to about 5,500.

Known mostly as a mining town in the past, more recently it has become a destination for those wanting to see what an old mining community looks like. It has beautiful architecture and some great funky old neighborhoods.

Bisbee High School is the single high school in the town and it lost seven of its graduates to Vietnam.

I went to visit and the people could not have been nicer. The Principal himself gave me a brief tour and then asked one of the student to take over.

Outside the main entrance, under a tree is this small, yet, dignified memorial to those lost. The principal told me that the school is proud of these heroes and is dedicated to everlasting upkeep of the memorial and to honoring these men.

The young man he assigned to me as a guide showed me a different memorial to one particular soldier and I will share that story at a later time.

Next time, on the 11th, we will trek back to California, so meet me there 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.

Arizona XXIII

I have long been a fan of Bisbee, Arizona. Mostly because it is the setting of a series of books that I read by local author J.A. Jance, but also because I have visited it a couple of times and it it is quite beautiful, a little funky, and very interesting.

Maybe 90 minutes south of Tucson and very close to the border it offers much to see and do. And, it turns out it is the home of two Vietnam memorials at least that is what I thought I knew.

Here is the only picture I have seen of the memorial. Said to be a multi-war memorial honoring those who fought in several of our most recent wars, up to and including Vietnam.

Photo by Bill Kirchner found at The Memorial Day Foundation website www.thememorialdayfoundation.org

When I arrived in Bisbee I started my search for the site, to no avail. I wandered around and around, asking advice from the Mayors Office, the local police, I called Veterans groups, stopped citizens on the street, and went to the local historical society. Most had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, all tried to be helpful, but nothing, nada, zip, zilch. The historical society confirmed that I was indeed looking in the correct spot, but no idea where it might have gone or what happened to it.

The spot today looks exactly like the picture above without the memorial. It sits at one end of a very small parking lot with the above bushes still in place. the gentleman from the historical society suggested that, perhaps a car or truck had hit the memorial, but it was just a guess.

I did find the other memorial in Bisbee at the local high school, and will feature it at another time.

Next time however, on the 3rd of August, we will return to California, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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