Indiana XIII

About an hour, or so, south of Indianapolis is Charlestown. Which began in the early 1800's as a Mill town. the population in the 1960s was around 6,000.

Indiana Vietnam Memorial, Indianapolis

Today, I would like to honor her three lost sons who gave their all in our efforts in 'Nam.

Richard E. Devore

SFC Richard Devore was lost on January 1, 1968, to "multiple fragmentation wounds." He was lost in the Tay Ninh Province. the only other thing I could find about him is that he was lost at a "hot LZ."

John Meigs Graham

PT John Graham who was lost to "small arms fire" in the Chau Doc Province, near the Cambodian border, on January 16, 1971.

The following was taken from VVMF's Wall of Faces Remembrances pages.

IN REMEMBRANCE OF A HIGHLY DECORATED ARMY OFFICER WHOSE NAME SHALL LIVE FOREVER MORE

"CAPTAIN JOHN MEIGS GRAHAM WAS A DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE OF THE USMA IN THE CLASS OF 1964 WHO WAS AN INFANTRY LEADER WHEN HE MET HIS UNTIMELY DEATH ON 1-16-1971. HIS MILITARY DECORATIONS INCLUDED THE SILVER STAR MEDAL, THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL WITH V DEVICE, THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL, THE AIR MEDAL WITH TWO OAK LEAF CLUSTERS, THE ARMY COMMENDATION MEDAL WITH V DEVICE, THE ARMY COMMENDATION MEDAL AND THE PURPLE HEART. IN ADDITION, HE WAS ENTITLED TO WEAR THE COMBAT INFANTRYMAN BADGE."

William Howard Somerville

CPL William Somerville was lost to in a chopper crash in Quang Ngai Province. It was noted that he was not a crew member. He was lost on August 15, 1969. He was among a group of soldiers on their way to try to take out an antiaircraft weapon that was constantly being moved around by the enemy. All on board the chopper were lost when it was shot down.

Next time, on September 25th, join me in Iowa. See you, as always, at 9:00 am.

If you have been 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 (several times now), Colleen from Pennsylvania (now three times!) Elli from Maryland and Peg and Ray from Florida (more than once!), among others have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or from where you have traveled. I even got one from Ireland!

These generous submissions have help to expand the knowledge of how we remember and honor the men and women who served in or were lost in Vietnam.

If YOU have any such photos or knowledge about these memorials and sites not already here, I would love to know of them. Please send them along to the email address on the left side of this page and I will gladly share them here.

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

Indiana XII

Brazil, Indiana is not too far from Terra Haute and in 1970 the population was just a little over 8,000. 

Nine of her youth were lost in Vietnam.

Today, just a few.

Max Wayne Batchelor

Sgt Batchelor was an Artillery operator who was lost at Binh Duong to "hostile small arms fire."

Harold Dickerson

PSGT Harold Dickerson had only been in-country for a few weeks when he was lost at Kontum. He was, for a time, MIA and died of "hostile small arms fire."

His name was, for some reason, left off the Brazil, Indiana Vietnam memorial and was added in 2011 completing the honor of the nine lost in the war.

PFC. Jack Kriger was lost to us on February 23, 1968. He became ill and was transferred to a hospital ship where he died of Encephalitis and Pneumonia. He was posthumously promoted to Corporeal.       

Next time, on the 7th, we will return to Iowa to honor a few more of the heroes lost in 'Nam. So, join me there, 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 and join those listed above.

Indiana XII

Well, first off let me say that the poster featured in my Veterans Day post did not post correctly. I have no idea why as it looks perfect in my view. I have tried to adjust it to no avail, so click on the link in the post and you will be able to see it (and many others as it should appear.)

Today, we return to Terra Haute, Indiana for a look at the face in their memorial. See the original post here.

The memorial here honors all but especially the 27 from the surrounding five counties.

This guy represents them all.

I see resignation in this face or perhaps a realization that this is not going well. It always amazes me what an artist can do with the materials the work in.

I have read that there is an effort to move this memorial to a new location. I have not determined that it has actually happened. If I find out, one way or the other, I will surely up date you.

Next time, on the 24th, look for a Thanksgiving wish, as always at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Indiana, or any other state, please click 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!

Indiana XI

As I have mentioned often, because of the pandemic I have not traveled, except for a couple of relatively local day trips, since March of 2020. On that trip to Alaska I was able to take some shots of memorials in several places. All of those have been posted and may be found elsewhere on this site.

The point is that I am spending all of my time, now, searching files from past trips looking for something to share with all of you.

I am surprised on occasion to find memorials from states where I thought I had exhausted all possibilities.

Today is one of those times. Just perusing files I found this memorial from Brazil, Indiana.

Located on the grounds of the Clay County Courthouse is the memorial to those from the county lost in "Nam."

The jet, by the way, is an F-86 "Sabre Jet" although I could find no documentation that these ever flew in Vietnam.

The two panels list the names of the ten lost.

The memorial is found at the Courthouse on the corner of East national avenue and south Alabama street.

Next time, on the 8th, we will take another look at Kansas, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Indiana X

Today just a quick post and a plea for help from the "hive" as my cousin calls it.

These two pics were taken in some kind of a government facility, maybe a city hall or something, I just cannot remember!

They honor the seven from the area, Posey County, I think, who were sacrificed in 'Nam. Both Posey County and Mount Vernon are mentioned on the lower plaque, but that is no guarantee!

The last two seem to have been added at a later time as the lettering is somewhat different from the first five.

This last pic, I am sure I took to remind me of where I was, but, again, I am not sure, I am guessing this is actually Mount Vernon as it is near Evansville, and Evansville is the next set of pictures in my catalogue.

So if you recognize the plaque or this sign, please tell me if I am right or wrong. If I hear from anyone, and I am shocked at how often I do, I will up date you here.

Next time, on the 23rd we will revisit Maryland, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Indiana IX

Evansville was under heavy construction when I visited, but along or near main street there are a number of memorials including this one to Vietnam.

Much simpler than the one along the River Front Esplanade, seen elsewhere on this site, it honors the 67 from Evansville who were lost.

55 are listed on this side

The reverse side list a few more, I do not know if these were added later or if this was the original design. If pressed to guess I would say these are names that were not known at the original dedication, but I can find nothing to verify that.  It is interesting to note that one name was added to the front on the lower left side, so I guess the question remains open.

The alphabetical listings on each side certainly add to my belief that these were added later.

Next time, on the 8th, we venture again to Kansas, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Indiana VIII

So, in preparing to write about Louisiana, I stumbled across another site I had overlooked. I promise we will get to Louisiana, soon. I hesitate now to predict!

 This one, in Indiana, is at the Parke County Court House, the older memorial covers a lot, the smaller, newer one adjacent to it covers Vietnam.

Two from the area are remembered and honored here.

The Court House is in Rockville, Indiana on the corner of Ohio and Market Streets.

Parke County lies on the western border of Indiana almost exactly half way down the state. The 2010 census reported a population of 2607, again, small towns do great things.

Next time on the 30th, we will return to Louisiana, I mean it this time, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Indiana VII

Princeton lies in Gibson County, Indiana and on the Court House lawn is a memorial honoring those who served and those who were lost in Vietnam and Korea.

The two panels commemorate the two wars.

The central stone quotes president Reagan and honors those that served as well as the lost.

Eleven from the area were lost in Vietnam and are remembered, for ever, here.

This is another of the far too many memorials about which I can find little information, so, once again, I am asking my readers to fill me in if you know any details or stories of interest. This happens on occasion and I am always happy to report what you teach me. 

Next time, on September 7th, we will revisit Maryland, actually the Naval Academy in Annapolis. so, join me there at 9:00am on the 7th.

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

Indiana VI

Along the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana rests a classic memorial to those from the area lost in Vietnam. Polished black granite fashioned in the manner of The Wall in D.C. forces you to look at yourself while you ponder the many names, deeds, and lives honored here.

Located at Chestnut Street and Riverside Avenue adjacent to a Combat Wounded Memorial (Purple Heart Memorial) no date of placement or dedication is listed, only the stark white engraved names.

I was pleased to see that the truth has been honored by listing some lost in Cambodia; something that was denied for years.

Interesting, too, is the helmet on the etched Field Cross. It looks to me to be a more modern helmet, perhaps from Iraq or Afghanistan.  I am not sure if this was done purposely or was an oversight of some kind. Strange.

Another anomaly is that every site I read about this memorial says that 55 names are listed, but when you count them there are 65. I know that these changes are happening all the time (we just added one in my county last week) but I think it is odd that no one has updated any of the several sites I visited to try to verify one number or the other.

Next time, on the 23rd, we will, once again, visit Louisiana. Join me there at 9:00am.

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

Indiana V

At the Vigo County Court House in Terre Haute a new Veterans Plaza honors all. But, just around the corner, on 3rd, is a memorial to those who served and the 27 who were lost in Vietnam. To some local vets this just did not seem right, so they started a campaign to raise the necessary funds to have it moved, With nearly all the money raised the order has been given to begin the process. The Vietnam memorial will become part of the Vigo County Veterans Memorial Plaza.

 

 

 The memorial consists of a soldier, a dedication and a plaque listing the 27 from the area that were lost.

The plaque lists the year of loss, rank, name, and branch of service for each of the local heroes.

The dedication reads as follows:

FOR THE VETERANS OF VIETNAM
FOR THE M.I.A.S
FOR YOUR FALLEN COMRADES
FOR THOSE WHO CAME HOME
FOR YOUR HEROIC EFFORTS ABROAD
FOR YOUR GREATER EFFORTS AT HOME
WITH BELATED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
OF YOUR DUTIES PERFORMED,
FOR GOD AND COUNTRY;
WE OFFER OUR HEART-FELT
GRATITUDE IN SAYING -
WELCOME HOME. 

The memorial was rededicated at the new site on October 8, 2012.

Join me, next time, in Lawrence, Kansas to see a small memorial at an Army Reserve Center. Check in, as always, at 9:00am on the 22nd of October.

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

Indiana IV

We traveled on from the park to the center of town as directed. Here we easily found the site of several, similar memorials, including one to Vietnam in front of a municipal building, if I remember correctly it was the town offices. The memorial honors the 34 citizens of Madison County, who paid the ultimate price.

After completing our visits in Indiana, we headed back towards home, making a point to travel through West Virginia. I will post those pictures at a future date.

Indiana III

The guy in Muncie told us we had to go to Anderson to see the memorial there. He said it was about 20 mikes away and that we should not miss it.

We drove over to Anderson and found one of the most beautiful city parks I have ever seen. We wondered through talking to a number of locals as we did so. It turns out that the memorial there is a multi-war site but as it was so beautiful I couldn't help but take some pics.

We met a fellow who told us that he was the multi-great grandson of one of the teachers of Henry David Thoreau, which we found quite amazing. He described his relative as a Utopian Socialist, which certainly helps one understand Thoreau a little better!

He directed us to the City Hall in Anderson, where there are several markers to a number of wars, including, 'Nam

The last pic in this series is just a shot of part of this beautiful park from the memorial.

Indiana II

We drove to Muncie and found a economically depressed, yet, wonderfully patriotic town. We met with the fellow whose job it is to care for the memorial. He, also, has the enviable (I think) job of checking all the flags that fly in town, on a regular basis. I think he said weekly and if any are worn or fading or in any way deteriorating, he replaces them. He did explain that they have everyday flags and special, better ones for events. He told us they have a ceremony at the site on Memorial and other special days and that they were getting ready for Memorial day, which was just a few days away.

The memorial sits in a public park and I think it is quite impressive. It sits in Heekin Park, on Madison between E.9th and E.12th Streets. It's is situated somewhat behind a beautiful old building that was once a Library. The town is considering how to utilize the now vacant space. It is quite a building and I hope they find a good use for it.

Indiana

The original plan was to go from Ohio south through Kentucky and Tennessee. However, Mother nature decided that she wanted to flood those states at this particular time, so we figured it was better to wait. I called several folks in each state to try to get an idea if the sites were accessible, but I couldn't reach anyone. We decided to give the good folks of these two states a little time to recuperate before visiting.

Instead, we turned west and went to several sites in Indiana.

The official state site is in Indianapolis. I had never been to this part of our country before and was delighted with just how beautiful it is.

The site, as seen in the pics, is a tall, half tower. The outside is adorned with excerpts from letters home of some of those who later were lost.

The inside tells the history of our involvement and list the names of Indiana's heroes by year of loss.

Located in the 5 block long Indiana War Memorial Plaza near the intersection of Meridian and North Streets in honors the 1532 Indianans who perished in Vietnam.