Vermont XV

Vermont claims to be the first Government sponsored Vietnam memorial in the country. This may be open to some interpretation as we know that others predate it by some time. In many cases years. I guess what "Government sponsored" means could make a difference.

No matter, it honors 100 from the state and, today, we honor three from Johnson. Read more about this remarkable memorial here.

 

Wayne Eugene Byrne

PFC Wayne Byrne was lost on April 16, 1969. He had been in-country for about 6 weeks and was lost to "hostile...small arms fire" three days before his twentieth birthday.

Rollin Chesley Sargent jr.

MSG Rollin Sargent served not only in Vietnam, but, also, in WWII and Korea. He spent fourteen years serving his country. He was an advisor in Vietnam when he suffered a heart attack and was lost. He died at Quang Nam Province on October 22, 1964.

Kenneth G. Weightman jr.

A1C Kenneth Weightman, whose four brothers all served in the military or as First Responders, was killed by lighting from a freak thunderstorm on June 10, 1966. He was lost at Ninh Thuan.

All of these soldiers are from Johnson, Vermont and illustrate differing dangers of serving your country

Next time, on June 22, we will return to Virginia, 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 two) 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.

Vermont XIV

I have posted from the unique memorial at Rutland, Vermont before. It is a great story and you can see it here, if you missed it the first time.

I managed to find a few names of our lost brothers from Rutland, and I will feature a few of them today.

Edward A. Birmingham

On October 2nd, 1967, PSG Birmingham was leading his men across a rushing, fog encased river when the VC opened up on them.

 "...One of the platoon members became entangled in the rope while the enemy leveled fire at the men on the life line. Platoon Sergeant Birmingham plodded into the river to save the endangered man. During his rescue efforts Sergeant Birmingham was swept away by the powerful current. It was not until days later that his body was found down stream..."*

PSGT Birmingham lost his life while attempting to save another on October 2nd, 1967 in the Quang Nam Province. 

 

Allen H. Archer

SFC Archer was lost by small arms fire in March 22, 1967, only two months after arriving in 'Nam. 

 

Joe K. Fish

LCPL Joe K. Fish was killed near Hue on February 19, 1968 by hostile small arms ground fire. It was the Tet Offensive and was a terrible time for all. 

Next time, on August 30th, we will return to Virginia, 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!  

Vermont XIII

This may turn out to be the shortest post I have ever made.

I will be asking you, anyone who chances across this, to help me identify just where this small, poignant, memorial is located.

I ran across it while perusing photos from New England. I think it is from Vermont, but as occasionally happens, I cannot verify that as absolute truth.

This, of course, is where you come in. You have always figured it out in the past when something similar has happened. I am counting on you!

What is important about it is that it reminds of us of the commitment we Vietnam vets made when Vietnam Veterans of America was formed.

As is well known and documented, many Vietnam vets were not warmly welcomed home. the stories you have certainly heard of the disrespect shown them (us) are true. Not all of it fell upon any one vet and some vets were probably not subject to it al all. 

But, it happened to so many.

The only incident I will speak to here is the fact that the various Veterans organizations wanted little, and often nothing, to do with us. I, like many of my brothers and sisters, was turned away from their doors.

Hence, the birth of VVA. Our founding motto is emblazoned upon this simple stone, seemingly alone if a beautiful green field or meadow. I have no pictures in the file that give me any hint as to where it is except the file name, Vermont.

"Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another"

Help me find it!

 

So, maybe not the shortest post I have ever made after all.

Next time, on the 6th, we will return to Virginia. Meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Vermont, 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.

Vermont VII

I was going to my nephew's wedding at the Mountain Top Inn Resort in Chittenden, Vermont and as we turned the corner on the road up to the Inn, I saw this sign.

Longtime followers of A Means to Heal know that I have visited hundreds and hundreds of memorials in the US, Canada, and Ireland, but this one was a complete surprise. Not only because I was not expecting it, but, also, because of it's simplicity. If you have followed on this journey for any length of time, you know that memorials can be very elaborate, but this one, to me, is elegant because of its simplicity.

Those lost, I am guessing, are marked with a star as are the ones on the left side, WWII. The Vietnam portion contains no stars but in my research I have found two names of local citizens now known lost.

I do not know if there are plans to update this memorial and I can find nothing about it online. so, again, I will ask you to get in touch if you are from Chittenden or the area and have any information.

The memorial is located on your left just after you turn on to Mountain Top Road from E. Pittsford/Chittenden Rd.

Next time, on the 9th, we will head south to Virginia, so check back then,as always, at 9:00am.

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

Vermont VI

Cruising the back roads of Vermont is a pleasure unto itself, but I was very pleased to find this memorial in Bridgewater. It commemorates many from various wars and a number from Vietnam are among them all. Located at the intersection of U.S. 4 and north Bridgewater Road it marks the war from December 22, 1961. Experience has taught me that many places start the beginning of the war on the day they lost their first hero.

       

The names here are alphabetically listed and I see no designation as to lost or missing, so the December 1961 date is a mystery to me

Many memorials have tributes or poetry as part of their appeal, but I particularly like the one found here.

I don't have a clue as to what the B US. 6 means, anyone have any idea?

Next time, on the 5th of April, meet me in Virginia, as always at 9:00am.

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

Vermont V

We found this park in Waterbury.

In a small park we found memorials to several wars including Vietnam. Built in 2000, this memorial lists all who served. KIAs and MIAs are designated by stars. There are 238 listed as having served. One MIA is honored here.

We met a lady who runs a mobile Hot Dog stand. She told us that she had been working this spot in the park for 18 years! She, also, told us that the Garden Club used to care for the site and worked diligently to keep it beautiful and fully in bloom, in season. She was a little unhappy that someone else had taken over the responsibility and was not keeping it up to previous standards. She explained that some of the flowers formed a large red star at one time. You can still see the red flowers but there is little sign that they ever formed a star.

Vermont IV

The memorial in Rutland was born from one man's depression and another's determination to see the project through.

Vet John Reno, like so many of us, had struggled with his memories, flashbacks and depression. He chose to work through these by pursuing his artistic vision. In 1981 he decided to work through his anger, to work off his pain. He began working on an abandoned piece of marble from an old plant. This would be his way out.

A tragic accident in 1982 ended his dream along with his life and the marble was forgotten. Then in 1995 John Bergeron, another Vietnam vet, went hunting for, and found the art work. This, then became the focal point of the Rutland Memorial. A local artist, Don Ramey, completed the piece as a tribute to all vets.

Described by some as a Frozen Soldier, it is Located in a median strip park it is not hard to locate on S. Main St., Rutland, VT

Directions:

South side of downtown. West side of US Hwy 7/4, between Washington St. and Killington Ave.

Sponsored by VVA, chapter 1, Rutland and was made possible by many contributions from individuals and businesses, it was dedicated on Memorial Day, 2000.

Vermont III

Driving the beautiful back roads of Vermont, one happens across many small towns. It is unusual to not find some kind of remembrance to local sons and daughters who served or were lost in our nation's wars.

This one in South Royalton lists the names of those who served in various wars. There is no explanation of the symbols, but one assumes that the star next to a name indicates they were lost. Thankfully, none of the 79 men and women listed here have the star that many of their brothers and sisters from other conflicts bear next to their names.

Vermont II

Located near by is this memorial to all from Sharon. In a small park, it sits in quiet remembrance of generations of Americans who have given their all, for whatever the cause.

Vermont

The story of the memorial for the state of Vermont has some unusual twists and turns in the telling.

Thought by many to be the first State sponsored site it nearly was lost forever. Built at a rest area on Interstate 89, Vietnam Veteran's memorial Highway, about 138 miles from the Canadian border. The site struck a nerve as 138 of Vermont's citizens were lost in the war. Their names are listed on the granite monument on site. The area is also reminiscent of Vietnam's highlands and felt familiar to many. Interstate 89 is also the road to the Veteran's Hospital in White river Junction and was often traveled by vets and their families.

The site was dedicated two weeks before the Wall in D. C. and by the mid 90's the facilities were failing. The Sharon rest area, and others, were slated for closure. The memorial would be lost.

Vietnam Veterans of America, Vermont Chapter, vets, and many others fought to keep the site open. The government listened and pledged to keep the memorial open. Working with the vets a new center was designed and built, and opened in 2005. A unique feature of the new site is its geothermal heating and cooling system. Visitors can walk through this "Living Machine" and see it at work and admire the many beautiful and exotic plants that flourish inside the greenhouse structure. The last photo is from the inside of the "Living Machine"

Inside the new visitors center one can view many photos from 'Nam, see the names of all who served (7,236) and visit a small museum of artifacts gathered over time. A triple time-line listing National, Vermont, and War events helps tell the story.

Described as a place "To Grieve, To Honor and To Learn" the center is a magnificent tribute to those who served.

Gold Star Mother Louise Ransom said the following at the initial dedication on October 30, 1982

"We will remember how they
looked the last time we saw them.
We will remember also the weddings never attended,
the houses never built,
the children never born,
the fields never plowed,
books never written
and the songs never sung."

Another element I liked was the white marble blocks set into the wall. There are 138 and are used for candles during ceremonies or left by family and friends. You can see them in the second and third pictures.