Delaware XIII

Once again we return to Fire Base Lloyd in Delaware. I've posted about it a couple of times before, but keep finding interesting features to show you.

Last time we stopped right at the entrance to see the tank they added to the site. Today, we'll venture back inside to see what has been added since my first visit here some years ago.

This was a simple flagpole on my first visit but it has been "upgraded" since.

The fence is new, as is the take on the Field Cross among the grasses and the eagle.

 These boots are different from what we had while I was there and I never saw the colored laces. Can anyone explain?

This sign was propped up against some stones when I first visited but has now become permanent.

The Marine Corps plays a prominent role here.

On future visits we will look at a number of other interesting additions including tributes to the nurses of Vietnam and the Donut Dollies.

Next time, on the 4th of March, we will revisit Florida, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Connecticut XVI

As I wonder around states seeking new memorials I also try to find a intersection, or a place that states the name of the town, or something to help me remember exactly where I was when I found the site.

This usually works flawlessly, but once in a while I forget or there is nothing obvious to photograph. Such is the case as I happened into what I now know is Sprague, Connecticut.

Situated on a corner is this really interesting site. I took a bunch of pics and even some of some route signs etc., only to find that when I wanted to post, the signs meant nothing. I could not remember where it was. I knew it was in Connecticut, but I could not, for the life of me, remember the specific place. So, I gave up and just decided I would never get to use these photos.

Being one who has difficulty taking no for an answer, I kept returning to the batch of pics, just to try again and actually found one that revealed where it was.

So, welcome to Sprague.

The site as you can see has a number of remembrances. the plaque on the right side of the stone "wall" towards the rear lists many who fought in the Civil War. Interestingly, as I have mentioned before, the Field Cross seen here dates back to the civil War.

The plaque on the left side remembers many from the 20th Century wars. Oddly, this plaque lists 44 who served in Vietnam.

The plaque on a separate pedestal, here, lists 110 who served in 'Nam. why the discrepancy, I cannot say, but I guess it has to do with what was know at the time of the placement of the various plaques.

I can find no dates on the plaques, so one hopes the differences are just the result of on-going efforts to be accurate and to remember and honor all who served. Next time, on the 28th, we will return to Delaware, so join me there as usual, at 9:00am.

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

Colorado XXVIII

Running a little late again today, lots going on. I'm prepping for my latest Alaska trip where I hope to rephotograph a couple of memorials that have been renewed or moved from one place to another. More on this later.

Today, I want to do something just a little different.

At the Colorado Vietnam memorial there is a small marker for the first American woman killed in Vietnam.

Photo of Barbara Robbins from the Sioux City Journal

Barbara Robbins was an employee of the CIA who heard a commotion out side her window and went to see what was going on. A car bomb exploded and she was killed instantly. The first female employee of the CIA ever killed and as of 1015, the youngest.

Photo of the car bombing from Wikipedia

This plaque is part of the Colorado State Memorial in Pueblo. the story of the Colorado memorial which is compelling in itself may be found here.

Next time, on the 23rd we will return to Connecticut, so join me there as always at 9:00am.

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

California XXIX

While cruising around beautiful California I happened upon this unusual memorial in Hermosa Beach.

The memorial, while not precisely a Vietnam memorial, was built by mostly Vietnam vets and flies the POW/MIA flag, most often associated with Vietnam. The community was  deeply involved and all funds were raised by tee shirt sales, fund raisers, and gofundme efforts and the like.

It took a little while and some never-ending research to discover that this is a sun dial. This is only the second sun dial design I have ever seen, the other is in Kentucky and can be seen elsewhere on this site.

At the base of the memorial is a plaque explaining how to read the time based upon the time of the year etc.

Individual names are not listed here but each military insignia is featured.

Also interesting to note is that the whole memorial serves as a lightning rod.

Located just off the Pacific Coast Highway it is seen by hundreds of thousands of passers-by every year.

The memorial is located at the corner of S. Hermosa Avenue and W. Sierra Madre Boulevard.

Next time, on the 16th, we will once again visit Colorado, 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.

Arizona XXV

Bisbee, Arizona lies about 90 miles south of Tucson and about eleven miles north of the Mexican border. It once boasted a population of nearly 10,000. but as of the 2010 census that number has fallen to about 5,500.

Known mostly as a mining town in the past, more recently it has become a destination for those wanting to see what an old mining community looks like. It has beautiful architecture and some great funky old neighborhoods.

Bisbee High School is the single high school in the town and it lost seven of its graduates to Vietnam.

I went to visit and the people could not have been nicer. The Principal himself gave me a brief tour and then asked one of the student to take over.

Outside the main entrance, under a tree is this small, yet, dignified memorial to those lost. The principal told me that the school is proud of these heroes and is dedicated to everlasting upkeep of the memorial and to honoring these men.

The young man he assigned to me as a guide showed me a different memorial to one particular soldier and I will share that story at a later time.

Next time, on the 11th, we will trek back to California, so meet me there at 9:00am.

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

Alabama XV

The first time I visited Alabama I went to Decatur. Decatur has a simple memorial to those lost in 'Nam that you can find elsewhere on this site.

While there I noticed some other memorials so I wandered around looking at them.

In addition to the memorial that I came to see, I found another.

It sits not more than 20 yards from the first one. At first, I thought that this was an older memorial replaced by the one I had just photographed, but it seems that is not the case.

 This memorial has seven more names that the first one and it is interesting to note the years listed as the span of the war.

This is one of a couple I have seen that span further than the official, accepted 1975 end of the war. I am sure that this is due to a death of one of these men at the later time. I have seen memorials with end dates as late as 1978.

The memorial is located on the grounds of the Morgan County Court House between Cain Street NE and Ferry Street NE.

Next time, on the 6th, we will return to Arizona, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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