1,000th Post

Today marks the 1,000th post on this site.

This was never intended. The original goal was to post a photo of each of the 50 state memorials throughout the country. As previously stated in posts over the years, it did not take long to discover that not every state has an "Official" state memorial. The example I always site for this is Pennsylvania: It has no "Official" state memorial, but it has a beautiful one in Philadelphia and another in Pittsburgh and dozens of others throughout the state. In fact, I believe that Pennsylvania is the second most represented state on this site, behind only Colorado. The two main reasons for this are its proximity to where I live and the shear numbers of tributes across the state: I have posted 39 as of this writing and there are many more that I have not yet visited.

So, this realization has led to visiting sites I never dreamed existed. I have visited every state at least once and many states many time. It is interesting that some places are still building memorials to the men and women who fought and died in what was probably America's most unpopular war. Nebraska comes to mind as they are currently constructing a beautiful new site, West Virginia dedicated a new memorial not long ago, and Rome, New York has recently added a Chopper to an existing tribute. There are undoubtedly legions of others that I may never see or even know about.

Thinking about this unexpected journey brings to mind some the remarkable people I've met and things I have been fortunate to see.

One of the most memorable interactions I have had was when I heard from a guy who just happened to be a seatmate when flying home from somewhere. Of course we talked about this project among other things. Some time later, he wrote to say, "I've been in therapy twice a week for PTSD for longer than I care to remember and after seeing your site, I know I'm going to get well."

What greater tribute could their possibly be?

I am often asked, "which is your favorite memorial?" I usually say, "the one I am in front of at the moment."  That being so, however, does not mean there are not some that truly stand out. It would be nearly impossible, I guess, to name them all, but, 

 California:

Sacramento

Colorado:

Colorado wilderness

Hawai'i':

Honolulu

Kentucky:

Frankfort

and Maryland to name but a few.

Baltimore

Don't think that just the "big" ones are my favorites. Many times the lesser known, hometown sites are magnificent in their own way.

Wyoming:

Cody

 Florida:

 

Ormond Beach

Hawai'i':

Hale'iwa

Louisiana:

Iberville

I could go on and on here but I hope if you are new to this site, or have not spent time browsing, I promise there are many, many more to be seen.

In addition to the above I have had the honor of being involved in a number events and projects over the years, now 14 of them, that I never would have dreamed even existed.

I have spoken to schools in my area, a group of English students in their final year of what we call high school, and been featured in several documentaries and presentations and eventsy. Things that I never imagined, not even in  my wildest dreams.

 

This one was honored with two Emmys, two Edward R. Murrow Awards, and Top Prize from the Associated Press:

 

https://wjla.com/features/7news-stories/a-means-to-heal-vietnam-vet-takes-thousands-of-photos-at-war-memorials-in-all-50-states# 

Check it out, if you like.

In the future, I hope to continue finding, honoring, and photographing memorials to those who served and those who were lost in Vietnam.

I will ask here, as I do after every regular post, that if you have photos of memorials that you have not seen here, please send them to me and I will share them with everyone.

To those who have followed for these many years, thank you, and I will repeat how much I love hearing from you when you comment. Many of you have corrected my errors and presented me with new information and ideas. I am always grateful.

To any who may not know, there is a print version of this site featuring some of my favorite sites. You can now get it at Amazon. It, too, is called A Means to Heal and sometimes my editor, John Curry's name pops up as an author.  Regardless, it is out there if you are interested.

So, thanks for following along for this longer than usual post, but, to me at least, this is kind of a big deal.

I'll hope to see you next time for number 1001, on the 19th, when we return to Maryland, as always, at 9:00am.