Season's Greetings #3 (2025/6)

So, I am up and running (walking, limping... you get the idea) so, I will finish off the variations from normal memorial postings today.

Today's pics come from a December trip to Arizona. I went to see various illuminations in Tubac, the botanical Garden in Tucson, and the Illuminations at Tohono Chul in north western Tucson. All were worth the trip.

I did not go to photograph them, simply to enjoy, so no "good " cameras went along. 

However, some of the sights were cool enough that I had to snap a few with my phone.

Today, to kick off this new year, a few of those.

Enjoy!

Tohono Chul horse sculpture as a Reindeer

Above photo illuminated

Next time on the 11th, we will return to Kentucky and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual 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 the group.

Alabama XVIII

Autauga County Alabama lost 13 of her sons in Vietnam. The county courthouse honors them, and many other veterans, in Prattsville. As of the 2020 census the County has a population of about 58,000.

 

James E. Bouyer

 

Pfc. James Bouyer was lost n April 1, 1969 not long after arriving in 'nam. As tragic as all deaths are from 'nam, his was due to an accident. somehow seems like an even greater waste to me. 

Ronald G. Crowe

Pfc. Ronald Crowe was lost on June 11, 1969 when his fire base was overrun in a late night attack by the enemy. The next morning the attack was repelled but many had been lost.  

Samuel G. Crowell

 

Sp4 Samuel Crowell, like Pfc Bouyer above, was lost at Gia Dinh. They were not lost in the same action and Sp4 Crowell was lost to small arms fire. Little other info seems to be available.

Next time, on September 29th, we will return to Alaska, 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.

Wisconsin XXIV

Wisconsin once again. I have been posting from the pictures that Joan sent me for quite some time now. I am eternally grateful to her for passing them along.

I have told the story of how she happened to find me and you can see that post here and several other post bearing her photos.

These pics, as are all the others, are pulled from a display that travels Wisconsin. So, you are viewing pictures of pictures that sometimes are not the best.

They are pictures, however, of the best America had to offer at the time and they deserve honor and our respect regardless of my abilities to present them at their best. 

Pfc Waschick entered Vietnam on January 6, 1968. On February 9th he was lost to multiple fragmentation wounds. He was just 18 years old.

Cpl Greenwood was lost on Hill 851 in Kartum Province om September 4, 1968. His platoon leader later credited him with "preventing the slaughter" of his fellow soldiers, he was lost to small arms fire near Dak Sum.

Cpl Schiesl was lost on March 24, 1969 at Quang Tri to light arms fire. I could not locate many facts about his service but I noted that he received, among others, a Bronze Star and a Unit Presidential Citation.

Again, my undying gratitude to Joan.

Next time, on September 19th, we will return to Wyoming, 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!

West Virginia XXII

 

My last few posts from Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia have focused on those from Morgantown High School, so I decided to try to find others deserving the same focus, attention, and admiration.

As stated in my post from Berkeley Springs, I wondered into town several days before the memorial was even dedicated almost exactly four years ago.. You can view that post here.

CPL Leland A. Bailey was lost on September 20, 1969 at Quang Nam. he is honored on the memorial in Berkeley Springs, WV but was originally from Baltimore, Maryland and is honored by that state, also. All that I can find is that he was lost to "other explosive device." 

Leland A. Bailey

Larry Monroe Clark

Sp4 Clark is listed on this memorial in Berkeley Springs, and is buried in WV.  I discovered while looking for additional information about him that he grew up in my county in Maryland. Not 15 minutes away from where I grew up. So, he is honored on our Wall, too. A Wall I helped build. Very odd feeling finding this out today. He was lost to small arms fire on February 2, 1968.

The third name I was going to write about today is Richard Morgan Johnson jr. He is listed among the seven said to have been lost in Vietnam on the monument in Berkeley Springs.

1Lt Richard M. Johnson jr.

I can find no trace of him on any site confirming this.

What I have found, repeatedly, is Richard Morgan Johnson jr killed in Korea in 1968. This solder is from the same area and I have not been able to solve the mystery.* 

I will continue to seek information and hopefully will clear this up.

If you know anything about this, please contact me at the email listed on the left side of this post. 

I will certainly update if I learn anything new.

Next time, on September 14th, we will return to Wisconsin, 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!

* I spoke this evening with Chuck Hempe. the man who brought the Berkeley springs Memorial to life. He assured me that 1LT Johnson was in fact lost in Korea in an incident at the DMZ and was included here as a son of Berkeley Springs and a 'Nam era soldier.