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.

Maine IV

Not too very far from where I was staying in Freeport is Lewiston. The woman who worked at the reception desk of our hotel is from Lewiston and told me about the site that was built after the traveling Wall visited the town. The site which is dedicated to all vets and all wars is very beautiful. Each of the monuments commemorates a different American involvement. A river with falls as a backdrop makes for a very dramatic setting.

The marker for the traveling Wall is quite small but is made more powerful by the fact that a capsule containing items of tribute brought to the spot by visitors is buried beneath it.

Maine III

The second, or new, veterans cemetery in Maine boasts this lane of flags and a wall that is filling in with names. The cemetery, located on Mt. Vernon Rd., keeps track of all who have passed during the year. Then, each spring, the names are engraved, alphabetically, upon the wall. There is no designation as to which war or how the vet died. These detail are listed on the individual markers at each grave site.

Maine II

Augusta has two veterans cemeteries. One on Civic Center road and another on Mt. Vernon. Like all veteran's cemeteries they honor all who served, but each had monuments and markers that honor those lost in the Vietnam conflict.

The Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery (Civic Center Drive) was the first to open, in 1971. The Mt. Vernon branch open in 2001.

The pictures on this posting are from the Civic Center Road cemetery.

Both sides of the walls of this monument are covered with the names of Maine's citizens who perished in our nations wars. They are not identified as to the war or the year. There are thousands. It is very disquieting to stand amidst the legions of the fallen in this quiet and beautiful site. Nearby there is a carrillion that chimes at various times of the day to remind all within hearing to pause and reflect.

The first picture is just at the entrance to the chapel that is on site and the proclamation hangs on the wall inside.

The Vietnam Veterans bench stands on an open green near the road as you drive through the cemetery.