Georgia IV

In Rock Creek Park in Gainesville, Georgia, there is this very nice memorial to the 26 men from Hall County who were lost in the war. The memorial is also dedicated to all who may have served, as well. Similar to The Wall in design the names are listed by name but, here, their rank, date of loss and home towns are listed, too.


Also in the park, which is located in Gainesville at the corner of Northside Drive and Academy Street, is a memorial to all 20th Century Veterans. The last two photos, here, are of this memorial.

Georgia III

Alpharetta, Ga. nearly became one of those places that proved impossible to complete my task. I had info about the location of a site and my GPS took me to that spot over and over again. There was nothing there except what might have been an old, very small park. I wondered and wondered around, asking anyone I could where the memorial might be? No one knew. This , as I have said before, is not uncommon. I went into stores, banks and finally a city admin building. No one had any idea what I was talking about.

Finally, I was directed to another desk and someone wondered if it could have been removed from the original spot (the small park) to the new Alpharetta Memorial Park?

Bingo! Once I rode out of town to the new site I found it along with a few others.

You will note that it appears to have been added to a WWII site. Four of Alpharetta's sons are listed here with space remaining for others if discovered. There is no literature or detail available. So, I do not know if there are still MIA's or if the extra spaces will be used for some other purpose.

I was glad to finally find it and I want to thank all the nice folks who tried to help. All seemed interested, but few had any real information to share. I guess that is one of the reasons I continue to seek out and record these sites.

My brothers, we are slipping from the memory of many. I guess it is always so!

The park is located at the intersection of Westside Parkway and Old Milton Parkway.

Georgia II

I found this incredibly beautiful and poignant memorial in Roswell, Georgia. I visited, first, at night ,in the rain. I did not realize how emotional the faces would look, in fact I doubted that I could capture any good images at all. I returned in the sun light and got a few more but it turns out that I think the first are the best. The faces in the wall represent many many people who were affected by this conflict. I, also, did not realize there was water running over the wall to create the same effect I thought the rain created!

The following is taken directly from the website for the memorial.

"The Roswell Vietnam War Monument is fourteen feet in height and twenty feet across, highlighted by Georgia marble cap stones and old colonial bricks. The plaza and walkways contain hundreds of memorial bricks purchased by supporters of the project.

Fifty faces, cast in bronze, depict an array of emotions, including fear, grief, and courage. They represent American serviceman and women, medical personnel, and Vietnamese civilians. One figure in the sculpture is that of a soldier reaching out to clasp the hand of a little girl. A sheer waterfall cascades over the backdrop faces. Viewers will be able to see a reflection of their own faces and at that instant become a part of the memorial.

As you visit the Memorial, remember those who served to protect the sovereignty of our country, not only in the Vietnam War but in all wars, and their families."

Inscription

"The Faces of War-heroic and tragic
Faces of the past held present in our memories
Faces of soldiers and civilians - men, women, children all ages, all colors

And our own Faces - observes who can never know the entire story
The whole concealed and reflected by a thin veil of water - water representing tears separation of past and present a cleaning

And emerging from the Faces, one soldier stepping toward the future into a garden - Stepping toward the next generation- a child - His legacy and ours"

Georgia

I reserved some southern states until winter. I figured better to go there in January than go to Minnesota! I suppose this was the wisest choice, but I was still blindsided by how incredible cold it can get in"the sunny south!" I left Kentucky unable to photograph the memorial there due to snow cover. Nashville was bitter and raining and Atlanta was so cold I wondered if I would be able to steady the camera to take the shots!

After figuring out some directions that were not as precise as I would have liked, I found the memorial. It sits in front of the Floyd Veterans Memorial building located at 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive at Piedmont Ave. The building sits across the street from the State Capitol bldg.

After photographing the memorial which is dedicated to 1584 lost, 8,534 wounded, 21 Ex-POW's and 41 MIA's (these are all honored on a Wall directly adjacent to the statue) from the state, I decided to walk into the building itself. I was so cold I needed a little warmth before moving on. I got talking with one of the guards and she sent me upstairs to the Georgia Department of Veteran's Services Offices in the building. I spent quite some time talking to people about the memorial and discovered that the plaza housing the memorials is named after Pete Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler is the current head of the department and has worked for them since 1949! Talk about service to your country and vets!

Texas VII

In the same Fort Worth Park as the last memorial, not far along the same path is this small, yet dignified memorial to those from the area who were POW's or MIA's. The site was dedicated in 1972 and some parts show its age. It was rededicated in 2000. The older plaque (last photo) is a little hard to read due to aging and the way the light hit it on the day I was there, It says;

Dedicated to prisoners of war and
those missing in action
in Southeast Asia
and their families.

Fort Worth Cares

November 18th, 1972

The smaller plaque on the brick says rededicated in 2000.

It sits off to the side a little creating a quite place to sit on the bench and reflect in this lovely park.

I have several more sites in Texas that I will return to at a later date. These include small and large memorials in Ranger, San Antonio and the ever enlarging National Vietnam War Museum in Mineral Wells among others.

Next, join me in Atlanta and other Georgia sites on the 12th of March, as always at 9:00am

Nam vets, thanks!

Someone sent me this and I thought I would pass it along. It is interesting how time changes how we view things. 40 years ago, we never would have expected to see this and yet today, as I have previously written about, (http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=43451232850131436&postID=6130821161481999895) we have people lying about being 'Nam vets. I have read that it is, almost, a pre-requeset to holding public office. If you have not read the original story, found at the above URL, it is interesting, a little infuriating, and, a little sad. Check it out. If the above does not work, go to;

Update!

The URL above does not work for some reason, so just use the directions below.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Arizona redux

On the left side of the page, just click March of 2010 and scroll through until you find the date or the title above.