Colorado XX

This is my 20th post from Colorado. I think that is the most from any state, so far. There are so many interesting sites here that I call Colorado that state that keeps on giving! So enjoy and I invite, encourage in fact, you to check out the other 19 posts from this beautiful state.

The Colorado Freedom Memorial is located in Aurora just outside Denver. It honors the nearly 6000 Coloradans who have paid the ultimate price since Colorado became a state. Over half of these never returned to their home, they were lost in battle or at sea, etc.

I was very happy that I had the chance to have a long conversation with the wife of one of the guys primarily responsible for getting the memorial built. She was able to give me very precise directions about how to find then site. This turned out to be a very good thing.

It might have been easy to miss if I hadn't known exactly where to find it. As you can see, it is mostly glass and as I approached it on the highway, I nearly missed it.

This is a more direct, head on, view. It is made to recall the mountains to the west. The builders wanted to invoke the last thing Colorado's soldiers might see when flying off to different lands and different wars.

There is border that runs along the walk and as I saw it through the names, it reminded me of The Wall in D.C., so I took this shot hoping to capture that idea. The names ,of course, are reversed, but you can still get the idea.

The names here are not listed alphabetically in an effort to denote the chaos of war.

Our brothers and sisters are listed upon these central, divided panels on purpose. They mean to remind us of how the country was broken by the division over the war.

I suppose it is a bit macabre, but I always check to see if anyone who shares my name is listed among the lost heroes. Here, I found a Thomas and I salute him and all the others from 'Nam, and all the wars represented here.

The memorial may be visited at;

Springhill Community Park

756 Telluride St.

Aurora, Colorado, 80011

And, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Next time, on the 26th, we will revisit Connecticut. Join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see other memorials from Colorado, or any other state, click the state name on the left side of this page.