Illinois XVIII

It is with a somewhat heavy heart that I return to Havana, Illinois today.

I had hoped to identify each of these vets and perhaps share a bit about them.

As you can see in the second picture, his name is impossible to read and after quite a bit of searching, I was able to track down the actual window and the name of the store featuring him and so many others.

I called only to discover that the business no longer exists.

As always, I will ask if any of you readers can positively identify him, I would love to honor his memory here. Please let me know at the email on the left side of this page 

This window is unique in my travels and experience. You can read more about it in a previous post that you can see here.

I am posting this picture again because I found out that he is actually the only hero from Havana lost in Nam. Killed, as you will note, in Cambodia: a place where we denied we were for many years.

Next time, on the 16th of April, we will venture, once again to Kentucky so, join me, as always, 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.

Illinois XVII

So, as you can see if you follow along on this journey, I am still searching through files trying to find something to share with you. As I do this, I am reinforced in the thought that I really must find a means to get past my concern about airports. I have no real issues anymore about hotels and I am convinced that the airlines are doing a good job of keeping the planes safe, but I've found no way to determine what the actual airports are doing. I remain concerned. 

All of this is by way of explaining why so many of my recent posts have been in the Faces of Remembrance series. I am running out of posts about memorials. I have a few left from a few states but overall my cache is running low.

Today's faces come from Havana, Illinois. They are etchings on the memorial there which you can take a look at here. It is interesting to me that they are directly across the street from the shop window display of so many faces in actual photographs from Mason County, You can see some of them here.

Even in these caricatures one can see the resignation, fatigue, and sadness of these, who represent us all.

Next time we will revisit Louisiana to see additional Faces from a couple of different memorials. So, join me, at 9:00am on the 8th, to honor our valiant comrades.

Tomorrow is Independence Day, so along with cook-outs, parades, and fireworks, take just a moment to remember those who have fought and died to retain our independence.

To see additional memorials from Illinois, 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.

Illinois XVI

So, even a different view of faces. In this Faces of Remembrance series I have tried to show the different looks I have seen given to the statues I've found as I travel. Last time I showed some faces of vets and others seen at the dedication of the memorial in Honolulu. 

Then while once again searching my photos I came across these faces. These are unusual as they are faces of lost vets, but from a happier time. I guess they might be from their Basic training graduations.

I found them when I visited Havana, Illinois to photograph the memorial there. Across the street from the park where the memorial is, there was a storefront. the guy that owned it filled the display window with patriotic stuff and the pictures of many of the soldiers whose names were engraved upon the stone across the street.

 

 

These photos were taken through the glass of the display window, so, perhaps not the very best. However, any effort to recognize and honor our brothers and sisters, I applaud.

I have asked the site for additional information about these guys and will update if I hear back from them.

I will ask, at the end of 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 from the lost at the left.

Next time, on March 5th, we will make a return trip to Iowa, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

Illinois XV

Rankin, Illinois is a village in the Butler Township due south of Chicago about 100 miles or so.

In 1996 the folks who live there decided they wanted to build a memorial to all who had served from the Civil War forward.

 700 names are listed with no designation of when or in which war they might have served.

Those lost are designated by a small mark next to their names.

Just in front of the memorial is this stone, now difficult to read, acknowledging many of the individuals and groups that helped this memorial become a reality.

An interesting aside is that there are more names on this memorial than actually live in the village at this time, 700 vs 612.

The memorial may be found on Main Street in Rankin, not too far from the Post Office.

Next time on,  February 3rd, we will return to Indiana, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Illinois XIV

I know that last time I said we would be in Louisiana today, but I ran across this small memorial in Virginia, Illinois and thought I would share it. We will move on to Louisiana, next time.

I was just driving, headed somewhere else, when we came upon this one, yes, my lifelong buddy, Steve, was with me on this trip.

It isn't huge, it lists no names and is dedicated to the lost of more than one war, but as I have said before, this is often the way of small towns. many just do not have the resources to build new memorials to every war we seem to get involved in. The 2010 census counts 1611 in this city 30 miles northwest of Springfield.

This one is located on the N.E. corner of the Court House lawn at S. Main and E.Springfield Streets.

I was not able to discover just how many were lost from Cass County, but I did find that two from Virginia are among them.

So, next time , on the 25th we will check out Louisiana once again, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Illinois XIII

Danville, IL. is in Vermilion County and they have recognized those lost in Korea and Vietnam.

Each of the two panels depicts a scene from their respective war and all the names of those lost are listed, by town, below.

Located on N. Hazel Street, it remembers the 25 lost from Vietnam.

The numbers in front of the names corresponds with the key to individual cities listed below. This is something I have never run across before.

The central stone proclaims the following dedication.

Next time, we will revisit Indiana, so join me there at 9:00am, on September 2nd.

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

Illinois XII

This small, yet, elegant marker is in a public park in downtown Wheaton, Illinois. Located at the corner of Karlskoga Ave. and Hale Street, it is easily found and entered through its beautiful gate.

Fourteen of Wheaton's best are honored here.

Their names are not listed upon the marker, so I have included them for you. If you click on a name you will be taken to a page with more info about the soldier.

ANDERSON, GREGORY BLASEN, RICHARD DONNAL, JOHN GIBSON, DONALD GREGOIRE, JOHN GUSTAFSON, EDWARD KNABB, KENNETH KOCH, FRANKLIN ODOM, VERN OLSEN, FLOYD POOLER, JOHN VAN, DUYN VANDEN, EYKEL

There was next to no information available about this memorial and, as always, I would love to hear from someone who knows anything about it. There is an email on the left side of this page so let me hear from you about this site or any of the others sites on the blog, I like to know you are out there!

Next time, on the 18th, join me at 9:00am, when we will revisit Indiana.

To see other sites from Illinois, or any other state, click the state name on the left side of this page.

Illinois XI

Just about 150 miles south of Chicago lies Tilton, Illinois. Seemingly a small town by any measure I was, once again, impressed by what small towns choose to do for their own. In a cluster of three along the main street stand memorials to WWI, Korea, and Vietnam. These are in addition to a larger WWII memorial elsewhere in the town.

This memorial, like some others, is dedicated to all who served from Tilton. I always like to see this but realize that it is not always possible, especially in area where thousands and thousands served, to inscribe every name upon a wall. I still like it.

 

 

One young man from Tilton, Perry Dickens was Killed in Action. His name is highlighted with a star upon the memorial!

Next time, join me in Terra Haute, Indiana at 9:00am on the 17th of October.

To see additional posts from Illinois, or any other state, click the states name on the left of this page.

Chicago, Illinois Update

I got a nice letter from the guy who built the Fallen Soldiers Tribute in Chicago. You may recall from the earlier post that it is located directly across the street from the privately owned and built Vietnam Survivors Memorial. He told me that he became involved with the survivors memorial when he noticed that the flags were in need of replacement. He contacted the guy who built it,a former Seal, got to meet him and they cooperated from that point on. His name is Hank and he told me that he is a proud Marine, combat wounded, vet and that he belongs to quite a number of veterans organization. He says that on several occasions people have stopped to talk with him and that he has been able to assist some in finding veteran services. As I wrote earlier, he was not home on the day I stopped by. I regret that as it would be a great honor to meet him!


So, Hank, here is a salute to you, your service and the help and support you give others!

Illinois X

The Vietnam memorial at Wabash Plaza, also Vietnam Veterans Plaza, is actually the new one. Dedicated November 11, 2005 it replaces an earlier one that was lost to reconstruction. Some components of that earlier one were included in the new one, but the time capsules containing the names of all from Chicago seem to have been lost.

The 14 fountains are said to vary in height by how many troops were in-country during a specific year. Each fountain represents a particular year.

I have read a number of different numbers regarding the number lost/MIA from Illinois, but this week I spoke with the guy that has the "official" list for the state memorial at Springfield. He tells me there are 2980, but even he says he wouldn't want to guarantee that number. Note, also that the names changed from the original (Chicago) to this one (Illinois)


 Interestingly, I found this article on line.

"This event was held at various locations in the city over the years until 1982, when Mayor Jane Byrne and Cardinal Bernardin dedicated the first Vietnam War memorial in the country, at the intersection of Wacker and Wabash. The memorial contained a time capsule that listed all of the names of soldiers from Chicago who died in Vietnam. From that day forward, VVAW's ceremony was fittingly conducted at the memorial; that is, until the current mayor, Rich Daley, decided to reconstruct Wacker Drive in 1998 and proceeded to lose the nation's first Vietnam War memorial. Despite all of the city's excuses, let's just recall that Jane Byrne's name was on the memorial, not Daley's. The mayor's solution to this small reminder of his family's short lapse of control over Chicago was to destroy an important and historically significant memorial, and then build his own. In the words of Barry Romo, "Not only was this city the first city to have a city memorial to Vietnam vets, we were also the first city in the world to lose a memorial." VVAW Veteran, Spring issue, 2006, Vol.36, Number1. Authored by Ken Nielsen:

You can read the whole article here if you like; http://www.vvaw.org/veteran/article/?id=599

It is odd to me that anyone would claim the first Chicago memorial as the first in the country. I have photographed and posted memorials from the late '60's on this site.

This will be the last post from Illinois for a while. I still have some from Wheaton, Rankin, Vermillion County and a few others, but, will post then another time.

Join me next time when we will visit Oklahoma. The state memorial is on the Capitol grounds in Oklahoma City, so join me there on the 21st at 9:00am.