Rhode Island IV

At the local Portsmouth High School, Donald Sisson is remembered and honored. One of the three listed on the previous post, it is noted here, that Sgt. Sisson was a member of the first graduating class of Portsmouth High School.

Next, on the 5th of August we will visit a town that lies in two states. Each side honors Vietnam vets in different ways. Join me at 9:00am for the first of two posts!

Rhode Island III

A few miles up the road from Newport is Portsmouth, R.I. I was on my way to locate a memorial at a local school when I came upon this newer one. Each side of it is dedicated to a different war from WW I through Vietnam.

For those of you who read the previous post, note what this site calls the war!

Next time I will visit the memorial at the local school dedicated to Donald Sisson.  Join me on the 31st at 9:00am.

I have been having a number of problems with the site. It does not seem to be anything wrong at the Google site or anything I can control from my end. In fact. it seems to be just a matter of trying to use the very worst internet connections I have ever experienced. While on the road, I was unable to contact, update, correct, or in anyway handle the problems. You may have noticed that the scheduled posts did not appear on time etc. Well, I am back at home base now and have corrected (I hope) all the problems. We should be back on schedule with the next post appearing on the 26th and then, as usual, every 5th day at 9:00am. I apologize to any readers who had problems. I even posted messages like this from the road but they would not post. If it is any consolation, I was frustrated too!

Rhode Island II

On the grounds of the regal old City Hall in Newport, Rhode Island sits this simple memorial to 11 of her sons that were lost in 'Nam.

I have written a number of times about how we cannot seem to agree on when this war was fought. The dates one finds on memorials vary widely. I have chronicled beginning dates from 1955 to the late '60's and ending dates from 1973 to 1978! It was with some interest that I noticed that this memorial names the conflict "The Vietnam Crisis", so I guess we will continue to debate that, too. This, of course, is merely a semantic exercise for, perhaps, Lexicographers and Historians;  those of us who were there know what it was!

Oddly, I had a lot of trouble tracking this one down. Most of the folks in town were very helpful, just wrong, about exactly where is was. Long time followers of this blog know that I often lament the lack of knowledge of local people in locating sites. This one, should you be looking for it, is at the City Hall which is on Broadway, just opposite the corner of Spring Street and Bull Street.

Rhode Island

I can't tell you how many times, on the way to Newport, I passed the signs for the Rhode Island Veteran's Cemetery at Exeter. Before I began this journey, it was just noted with interest. I was a little surprised, as I began this effort, to discover that it was, also, the home of the R.I. Vietnam Memorial.

I stopped in and happened to meet the head guy. He is a 'Nam vet himself and was quite interested in my efforts. One of the interesting things he told me was that on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, he and his brother meet at the site at sunrise and read, aloud, all the 224 names listed here. I think this is quite a tribute and I would love, someday, to be there as they honor our fellow soldiers. I have on occasion sent him an email on those days.

The memorials and grave sites at this historic place go all the way back to Colonial times. The place is not hard to find if you just follow the signs along Rte. 95. and follow additional signs to 301 S. County Trail, Exeter, RI, 02822

This is a remarkably beautiful place and you would not regret taking time to stop, I am sure.

Louisiana VI

Not far from New Orleans is the city of Houma in Terrebonne Parish. They have an interesting Veteran's Park that runs along side the road. Within lie a number of monuments including this one to Vietnam, in addition, there are a number of smaller, seemingly, personal tributes.

There is, also, a bell hanging at the entrance. This is used at various ceremonies and all who visit are encouraged to ring it in remembrance of the lost.

The park can be found along Rte 113 near the intersevtion with St. Charles.

For more info, you can check here;

http://www.bayouvets.com/park.htm

On the 11th we will explore Rhode island, starting with the state memorial at Exeter. Join me there at 9:00am.

Louisiana V

Between Armstrong International Airport and New Orleans sits the Dignity Memorial Gardens. I have visited a number sites in this chain of cemeteries and, so far, each has had some kind of Veteran's memorial on site.

The memorial here has a specific monument to Vietnam. This is not always the case so I was eager to see and photograph it. It is located right on Airline Drive so it is easy to find upon leaving the airport.

The area in which it is located has a large state shaped sign proclaiming Louisiana Remembers. There are several memorials here to different actions. What struck me about this one was that it only listed 35 names of lost Louisianans. I have attempted to find out why this is and how these particular names were chosen, but have not heard back from them at this point. As always, if I do hear from them I will post an update.

From here we will visit Houma in Terrebonne Parish on July 6th at 9:00 AM