Washington XX

In what often feels like a never ending pursuit of something to write about here, I was once again searching through files, trying to find something new. I came across a close-up, portrait like, photo from the memorial I had seen in Spokane, Washington.

I checked the site to make sure that I had not already posted this in my Faces of Remembrance series and was astonished to find that not only had I not published it there, but had not posted about the memorial at all. Yet, I feel as if I did. This has happened before. I discover that I have not posted about memorials that I have distinct memories of writing about. Sometimes I think there are two, perhaps parallel, versions of this effort! Enough crazy talk!

On the upside, I can now tell you about this fantastic site. A friend told me about it but I had a hard time finally getting there as Spokane is over 300 miles east of Seattle. Once I did it was well worth the effort.

I arrived late in the evening and found a hotel that was just across the street from a large park. the park was alive with lights and lanterns and festive decorations. It was beautiful even from my hotel window.

The next morning I headed over and discovered that the memorial was in the same park so I started heading for it. I kept running into shrouded chain link fences every time I got near it. After trying several attempts to access it I was frustrated and ready to quit. Then I heard some voices behind the fence that had been completely shrouded to prevent observation. So, I took a chance and started talking to the voices (yeah, I know..) Finally someone answered. It turns out the portion of the fencing I was near was around the maintenance area for the park. The guys finally, after hearing that I had traveled 3,000 miles to take these picks, let me in. They couldn't have been nicer and one of them even escorted me a distance off to the correct area so I could complete my task.

Nestled among some trees, on a rise, it was difficult to back up enough to capture the large memorial.

Called the Inland Northwest Vietnam Veterans Memorial it is located along the Riverfront Park.

About 300 from the are who were lost are listed around the base.

Note the letter in his hand

The memorial was dedicated in 1985 and in 2021 a renovation was undertaken. There is also a movement to move it from this Highground to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to join other memorials. There is some controversy over this and I have not been able to determine if a final decision has been made. One side thinks the Highground was chosen for a reason and is appropriate although it is a little hard to get to, and others think it should be among other war memorials. As I say, If learn the results I will update here.

Next time, on the 19th, we will return to Arkansas, so join me there at 9:00am.

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