Louisiana

Louisiana is one of those states that seems to not have an official Vietnam memorial. However, two are located within the city of New Orleans. Dedicated to the 883 fallen and 38 MIAs, this life sized sculpture of soldiers carrying their wounded comrade to safety is located at the Superdome. I have read reports that all the names are listed here, but in my several visits, over several years, I have never found them. There is a interesting set of plaques that run along the surrounding safety wall that attempt to tell the story of American involvement in Vietnam.

The memorial is located on the Poydras Street side of the dome and can only be accessed on foot. From the street you must look up to see it as it is on the raised area surrounding the dome.

Interestingly, after the discussion in the last post about what memorial was the first in the country, I read a report online of a newspaper article claiming that this memorial, dedicated in 1984, was the first in the county. While we know better than that, it is interesting that the discussion continues. As I said in the last post, the earliest, that I am aware of, is in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dedicated in 1966.

The last photo reminds me of being there for the "Free" elections in '67. ARVN (Army Republic of Viet Nam) 2 and 1/2 ton trucks rolled into towns and villages to round up the citizens, sometimes at gun point, to go vote in the "free" elections. It was about this time that my faith that we were assisting in a noble cause was finally destroyed. I decided that from here on in, I just wanted to get home safely.

The next post will be of the other memorial within New Orleans. it is located not far from this one and was built, in appreciation, by the Vietnamese community.