Illinois XV

Rankin, Illinois is a village in the Butler Township due south of Chicago about 100 miles or so.

In 1996 the folks who live there decided they wanted to build a memorial to all who had served from the Civil War forward.

 700 names are listed with no designation of when or in which war they might have served.

Those lost are designated by a small mark next to their names.

Just in front of the memorial is this stone, now difficult to read, acknowledging many of the individuals and groups that helped this memorial become a reality.

An interesting aside is that there are more names on this memorial than actually live in the village at this time, 700 vs 612.

The memorial may be found on Main Street in Rankin, not too far from the Post Office.

Next time on,  February 3rd, we will return to Indiana, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Idaho VIII

I've not been to Idaho in quite a while. It was, however, the very first memorial I wrote about on this site.

This month makes the 10th anniversary of the first pictures I ever took for A Means to Heal and I will probably have more to say on that in the very near future.

These pictures while the first posted were actually taken a number of months into the project. I had been mulling over the idea of creating a site to share this journey on and while in Montana, visiting my friend John Spitzberg, we drove down to Twin Falls and took these pics. It was sitting in John's living room that I wrote the first post for A Means to Heal.

These will be  a continuation of my Faces of Remembrance series.

These faces on the newer memorial in Twin Falls have been interpreted differently be different people.

Some say they represent a soldier, a prisoner, and a protestor, while others say the young woman id a female military person. I have spent quite a bit of time trying to find out if one of these is correct or maybe something else altogether. I recently wrote to the creator of the plaque with the faces, but he has not yet responded.

 This is the plaque upon the memorial.

 The Soldier

The Prisoner

The Woman

It is the woman that is up for question. She has an American Flag behind her, seemingly, perhaps, around her shoulders and it is quite unclear whom she might be or represent.

I hope the artist makes contact as I would love to know his original intent. when I first wrote about this site, so long ago, I said that I thought it appropriate to include a protestor, to try to speak to the larger story of the war. Since then I have seen these other claims that she is actually a female solder. I don't know if this is true, revisionist history, or if we will ever know for sure.

If I hear from the sculptor I will certainly update you .

Next time, on the 29th, we will return to Illinois, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Georgia XII

Due south of Atlanta, about an hour, is Zebulon. I was just passing through when I came across this memorial.

Dedicated to many, from many wars, in includes four of our brothers lost in 'Nam.

Located at the Pike County Court House it was built by the American Legion Post 197.

It may be found on the corner of Main Street and Barnesville Street.

I am always delighted to chance upon memorials that are unknown and unexpected.

Next time on the 24th, we will take another look at Idaho, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Florida XVII

Punta Gorda is on the Gulf Coast of Florida about 25 miles north of Fort Myers.

I was not sure what to expect as I have not spent too much time on the Gulf Coast. It is simply beautiful and the job the town, the vets, and the people who live there have done on this memorial is spectacular.

It began as an idea to let folks who might never get to DC to have a way to remember and honor those lost and missing from Vietnam.

At Laishley Park, on the Peace River, they built a half scale replica of The Wall in DC. Often these replicas, seen around the country, are retired versions of The Traveling Wall and are made out of aluminum. Here, it was wisely decided to use granite, just like DC, because of the salt in the air and what it might do to  aluminum.

On November 5th, 2016, the Vietnam Wall of  Southwest Florida was dedicated.

There was a huge ceremony with Rolling Thunder, a jet flyover, music, speeches and dignitaries and thousands in attendance.

 There are other memorials here, including one to Vietnam, that I will tell you about at a later date.

 All are reminded why we are here.

 The park and memorial are located at 120 Laishley Court.

Next time, we will revisit Georgia, so meet me there on the 19th, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Delaware XII

I have written about Fire Base Lloyd in the past but I had a chance recently to return for another look and the guys here have added a bunch of new features, including a tank.

It is much easier to find these days, you just head out on Flemming Landing Road and turn at the tank!

This is the sign at the front end of the tank.

The sign announcing Fire Base Lloyd features the military branch insignias as well as the statue from Wilmington. I have designated this statue, seen elsewhere on this site, as the "Official" memorial for Delaware as it lists the names of all the lost from the state.

We will return to Fire Base Lloyd sometime in the near future to check out some of the more recently added features.

Next time, on the 14th, we will return to Florida, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

California XXV

About an hour and 15 minutes south-east of Fresno, California is Woodlake. After visiting a few other local memorial sites I happened upon this one in Miller Brown Park.

I can find little to no information about it but it seems to be one that has been created and then recreated, two different memorials becoming one.

There is a plaque simply honoring those who served.

Nearby, actually right behind the plaque, this granite marker honors those lost.

The nice little park, with playing fields etc., is located on East Naranjo Blvd. in Woodlake.

Next time, on the 9th, we will return to Delaware, so join me there at 9:00am.

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