California XXVI

Eleven or so miles east of Los Angeles, out route 10, is the city of Rosemead. previously, I have written about Rosemead because of the unique and beautiful 911 memorial in the city.

Today, however, I will tell you about the Vietnam memorial on the grounds of the City Hall.

You can see part of the 911 memorial behind this one.

The flags were dancing in the wind.

It is a not huge memorial, but honors the six men from the city who died in Vietnam. The names are hard to see and read because the beautiful flowers were in full bloom the day I visited.

You can just see some of the names along the bottom of the memorial

I wondered inside City Hall and got talking to one of the guys that works there. He was telling me about how this memorial was dedicated in 1989 replacing a much older one. I said something about being sorry that I had missed the older one. He said for me to wait a minute and he disappeared down a hall. A few minutes later he returned carrying the older memorial. He carried it out side and placed it on the ground where I could take a picture of it. What a great, reverent, and kind thing for him to do.

As you can see it is quite small, but notice that date:April 1968, the same month and year that I came home from 'Nam.

The names, as I said, are nearly invisible this time of year;

Michael Shands

Michael Craig

Dale Blume

Ramiro Moro

John Lewis

Tommy Thomas

I have heard it said that if one dies alone they will be forgotten, not these men, these heroes, these remembered here, forever.

Next time, on the 3rd of May, we will return to Florida, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

California XXII

In my ongoing quest to find and document Vietnam memorials throughout America, as I have said before, sometimes they seem to fall into a couple of standard, if you will, catagories. They are most often some version of a wall with names, buddies helping buddies, or chopper rescue, so, I am always looking for something different, too.

This memorial, while not exclusively Vietnam, caught my attention the last time I was in Los Angeles.

It is the bridge at Sepuldeva and Bonsall, one of the entrances to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.

It has been painted with numerous faces of those that served, unit patches, and other appropriate symbols like the POW/MIA flag. In places, it appears to be a work still in progress.

If you are a long term reader of this site, you may recognize this guy. I have no idea who he is, but his face also appears on the Venice, California memorial, indicating, I think that the same artist is involved with each site.

This is a view from the Medical Center side of the bridge.

Even inside the wall are covered with pictures. Note the parachutist.

I found my two patches, U.S. Army Vietnam and 1st Logistical Command, called by many, The leaning Shit House.

The bridge is located on Sepuldeva at Bonsall Ave and you need to wonder around a bit to find it and a place to park, but it is really quite impressive.

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

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

California XVII

In Los Angeles there is a unique tribute to Vietnam vets.

In Hawaii, it seems that Americans of Japanese descent wanted to build a memorial to the 117 heroes who died in 'Nam. The usual processes were followed; meetings, planning, publicity, fund-raising etc. When all was complete, it became apparent that no site for the memorial could be found within our 50th state. It seemed that the project was doomed. However, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in L.A. heard of the problem and said, "We have the space, build it here." and that is what happened.

I had read about the site several times but was always unable to get there when in California. This time I determined that it would be my first stop. I flew from the east coast to the west, rented a car, programmed the GPS and headed out. The site is less than 20 miles from the airport, but all of the airport stuff and the famous LA traffic, took so long that as I neared the site, it became obvious that the light of day was fading far too quickly.

I decided to find it anyway so that I could, at least, see it and honor it. After a little difficulty and some directions from a local, I found it. I decided to try to get some pics, anyway and, like the project itself, it all worked out.

The memorial is part of the Memorial Court which faces on San Pedro Street and includes memorials to those who participated in other of America's wars, too.

The exact address is 244 San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, Ca.

More info may be found here;

http://www.jaccc.org/memorial.php

Next time, on the 20th, we will take another trip to Florida, so, I'll see you there, as always, at 9:00am.

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