Oregon XVIII

I have been trying for quite some time to find a way to use these photos in a post. They are just not that good: it was raining, very near dark and I just couldn't get the settings just right. So, every time I upgraded my software, I tried again to salvage them.

 

I have finally decided that they deserve to be seen, not because of the quality of the pics but because of the quality of the men and women the memorial represents and honors. My inabilities should not prevent that.

The memorial is found in Polk County, Oregon, at the Restlawn Memorial Gardens off Oak Grove Road near Salem.

 

The memorial is nestled in among thousands of markers to those lost, if not by war, then certainly to their friends and families.

 

 

As you can see the inscription is lost to my poor abilities but I was able to locate other pictures while searching ou the location.

 It reads as follows:

 "IN MEMORY OF
ALL VIETNAM VETERANS

This memorial was erected in memory of the young individuals who went to war as kids and lost their youthful dreams, and some their lives for a cause - freedom and honor - and came back as men with the
horrors of war instilled in every fiber of their being and were never given the respect and honor they so dearly deserved from the public or the United States government.

God will one day judge our actions. Until then, He will shine on the lives of each veteran now and forever more because He was with each of them in Vietnam. He is the only One that truly knows what they went through and are living with every day."

While some of this sentiment has changed or softened over the years, for every veteran I know, these words still hold true and dear.

The silver lining should one actually exist is that today's younger vets are greeted more warmly and with greater respect regardless of what we might actually think or their particular war.

Next time, on the 19th, we will revisit Pennsylvania, so join me there at 9:00am.

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