New York XXI

I wandered around the Wallkill area for quite some time being completely unable to track down a memorial I had read about. Finally, I stopped into a fire station that, at first, seemed deserted. I wandered up flights of stairs until I bumped into some firemen who were somewhat surprised to see me! 

I asked them about the memorial and they were unsure until one remembered where is was. They gave me directions and I was on my way. 

It is hard to understand how they could have been unsure about this fantastic site, I guess it is generational. The site has any number of memorials: Vietnam, Vietnam and Korea, 9-11, and more, some of which I will write about at another time.

The main Vietnam memorial is reminiscent of The Wall in DC. It i a series of polished black stones perhaps 80 feet long and maybe eight feet high at the most.

Each of the stones is highly polished but only three have anything on them.

Two list the names of Veterans who served and from what little there is to be found on line about it, it seems that any veterans can have his name added to the wall. 

Wallkill and Middleton seem to meld into each other so much so that some say the Veterans Park is in Wallkill and others seem to think it is in  Middleton. Seriously, were it not for the signs you would not know there are two different towns here.

I have found one name from Wallkill and nine from Middleton on The Virtual Wall and I am sure they are all listed here among the names of the others that have served.

One thing I found a bit unusual about this site is the etching of the soldier adjacent to the names. He looks to me to be quite a bit older than the average guy in 'Nam. I could find no explanation for this and I hope that if anyone knows the story that you will let me know and I will update this post.

Finally, there is this small dedication plaque just at the front of the site.

Next time, on the 12th, we will revisit Ohio, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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