Arizona XXVII

Today I will take you into the Faces of Remembrance subgroup of this effort.

The Arizona memorial sits in Wesley Bolin Park opposite the Capitol building in Phoenix. The park is just filled with memorials to many people and efforts. I have spoken before of my encounters within the park and you can find those posts elsewhere on this site. For those who may be new to this site, if you click on a state name on the left side of this page all the posts about that state will appear from the most recent to the oldest.

The site depicting brothers aiding brothers, also, list the hundreds of names of those who served and a tableau telling the history of the conflict.

 

Seen on the right is just one of ten panels listing names.

As always, the eyes tell the story.

The faces are forever here, telling the story, our story, for any who wish to hear or know.

I've heard it said that 'Nam vets can always pick each other out of a crowd: there must be a connection between these things, the eyes and the recognition even these many years later.

Next time, on the 13th, we will return to California, so meet me there at 9:00am.

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

Arizona II

The state memorial is located in Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza directly across the street from the Arizona State House in Phoenix. It contains the Vietnam memorial as well as numerous other remembrances, including one to War Dogs.

There are several components to the site. First, there are 10 polished stone pillars. Upon these are inscribed the names of the 616 fallen or missing. Second, there is a table, for lack of a better description, on which are numerous plaques that tell the history of the conflict. Next, there is the statue of one G.I. cradling the body of his fallen friend while a third tries to pull him to safety. The statue is supposed to present the soldier as victim as well as hero! There is a small sign attached to the site which speaks to "In country" vets. I am not sure why this distinction was made between those who served in country or the larger group of Vietnam Era Veterans.

Upon returning to Maryland, I was talking to someone who wanted to know if I had visited the memorial in Tucson!! They told me that it is at the old courthouse in old town. I will certainly get there the next time I am in Arizona. As I have said before, too often these things don’t turn out as reported, but I want to check them out anyway.

This brings up a point I have wanted to make. I would love to hear from anyone who knows more facts or historical info regarding this or any other Vietnam memorial site. In fact I would love to hear from any one who reads these pages. It is the best way for me to know you are out there!


Map this memorial.