Delaware XXIX

As I peruse my photo files I continue to find things I have not posted previously. This time it was from Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. You may recall that Dover is where so many, many lost soldiers returned to on their way to home or Arlington or some other final resting place.

Today, just a few more names, one survivor and two lost heroes.

These all served and have earned our recognition and respect.

I posted previously about the lost plane on which the 2nd and third listed here were lost. You can see that post here.

Next time, on the 17th of March, we will return to Florida where readers have just sent me numerous photos from a memorial site there. So, as always, join me there at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and next time Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos.

 Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Colorado XLIV

Returning, as I so often do, to Fountain, Colorado to the remarkable Railroad Park. The Wall here list dozens, if not hundreds, of names of those from the area that served our country. Not all were lost but all deserve to be remembered

All gave some, some gave all.

 I have posted from here before (and will continue to do so) and you can see a few of those other posts here, here, and here.

Today, simple three more heroes.

 

Next time, on the 12th of March, we will return to Delaware. So, as always, join me there at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

California XLV

This is the 55th post I have made from California. When I started this project in 2009, I thought I might post four pictures of memorials from each state.

Circumstances changed all that and now 55 from California, amazing to me.

It is fitting I suppose as California with its nearly 40 million in population is, perhaps not surprisingly, the state that lost the most of her citizens. More than 350,000 served and 5,822 were killed. These numbers vary a bit depending on whose source you read.

Today, we return to the Nixon Library, a place I never thought I would see, to visit an exhibit about bringing home the POWs. It is quite extensive and interesting. You can see previous visits here and here.

With the publication of Kristin Hannah's book The Women which tells story of the heroics of the Nurses in Vietnam, I have been thinking more lately about how women served, participated, and influenced our efforts in the war.

This brought me to this table, in a corner, at the library.

It shines a light on the efforts of the wives of the POWs, their efforts to bring home their husbands, brothers, Uncles: our comrades.

It may be impossible to ever know exactly just how much influence or weight these efforts may have had upon the history of and the lives of our captured fellows, but, most certainly, it helped.

Our gratitude and debt to these can never be overestimated.

Next time, on the 7th of March, we will return to Colorado, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state or Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Arizona XLI

It would be difficult to name a soldier more associated with the Vietnam war than John McCain.

It is fitting then that the city of Peoria, in his home state of Arizona, has dedicated the John McCain Memorial Plaza in his memory.

Today, I will share just a couple of introductory photos from this marvelous and beautiful site. There will be more to follow.

Included as part of the Rio Vista Park it is well worth a visit, you could spend many hours here.

I noticed that these flags were at half staff and wondered if they were always lowered in tribute?  I called the City and was told that this was only the case on certain times as directed. Then I looked at the date I actually took the picture and it was September 10th, so the reason became obvious.

No matter how you might of felt about Senator McCain's politics or policies, no one can diminish his bravery, patriotism, or sacrifice.

I think anyone, no matter left of right, could learn something from him.

There will be more photos from Peoria in the not too distant future. Check back often.

In the meantime I will be posting from California on the 2nd of March, as always at 9:00 a.m., so join me then.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state or Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Wisconsin XXIII

Once again, I am returning to the wonderful set of photos that Joan sent me from Wisconsin. For reasons I don't know I have lost contact with her. Her email keeps bouncing back to me. I fear she may be not well. I wish I could find out. I wish  and hope that she knows how very much she has contributed to this site and to the many relatives, friends and acquaintances of these lost heroes. They will be forever remembered because of her act of curiosity and generosity. She contacted me solely because she ran across my name and then this site as she searched for an old friend with whom I happen to share a name. Kismet!

Today, a few more from her pics. As I have previously mentioned these pics are cropped out of larger ones she so kindly sent to me, so the quality is not what I would want. But, remembering and honoring these fallen is far more important than whether the pictures are museum quality.

There will be more in the future.

R.I.P. brothers.

Next time, on the 25th of February, we will return to Arizona, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state or Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

North Carolina XXVIII

So, finally the twice promised visit to North Carolina.

While searching through files of photos, I stumbled across a photo from a place called Blowing Rock.

Blowing Rock lies about an hour and 40 minutes southwest of Mt. Airy.

The memorial, like so many, honors those from several wars. This is very common as many places simply cannot afford to build memorials to every military action we end up engaged in.

 Perhaps there is a lesson there.

Blowing Rock according to the 2020 census has a population of  less than 1400 people. So, kudos to them for choosing to allocate funds to honor their heroes. 

Below are the two from 'Nam.

Next time, on the 20th of February, we will return to Wisconsin, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Important info for vets

UPDATE: somehow I posted this improperly. It was supposed to go up on the 8th but I messed up. So, here it is.

I am running a little behind today but this is important. 

I have never posted anything but memorial sites and some holiday diversions on this site. It has always been a place where vets and other interested people could come simply for information about Vietnam memorials and the honor we pay those who served and those who were lost. 

Today, I feel a need, more accurately an obligation, to share more startling and important info.

I have bent over backwards to keep my personal views out of this site, i.e. to keep it apolitical. 

This is just too important to ignore. 

It doesn't matter what your politics are, if you are a veteran or care about a vet, take a few moments to hear what this guy has to say. I have not independently verified every claim he makes, but what I have seen certainly indicates that he is right on target. As we have seen, the details seem to change every few moments. I have relatives who work for the Fed and get two or three emails a day changing what the last email stated as fact. So, as I write this, the details could be changing. 

The fact is veterans were made certain promises and it seems that those promises may be worthless. So much for "Rah rah, we love vets."

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14yLAmtq5b/

I promise to get back to my memorial posts next time, on the 15th, check out North Carolina at 9:00 a.m.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state plus Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

New Mexico XXXI

I know that last time I promised to post from North Carolina today, but, I realized that i had inadvertently skipped New Mexico. 

So, I will postpone North Carolina for the moment and revisit New Mexico, specifically, Lordsburg, As I have written before, Lordsburg has a wonderful memorial to all its citizens who have served. Recently completed (2021) it honors many from different wars and I have posted previously about a few of them. You can see those posts here, here, and here.

It is amazing to me that this memorial was built in a town of just over 2,000 people and during the war years it hovered around 3,400. Once again, I will praise what some small towns do for their vets while some large States have no official memorial at all.

Today, just a couple of pics, faces actually of two of the statues within the park.

In keeping with my Faces of Remembrance sub group.

This is the Vietnam solder honoring all who served.

This is the face of a female solder. It is not clear which, if any, war she represents. Perhaps just a tribute to the many women who have served, given their lives and all too often not received the recognition and respect they have earned and greatly deserve, I have written previously about the sacrifices of the women who served so valiantly in 'Nam. Most of us know of the eight women remembered on The Wall but many others Gave All for our efforts in 'Nam, too. You can read a little about them here.

Next time, on the 8th of February, we will return to North Carolina as previously promised, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Michigan XVI

In past posts I have identified Veterans Memorial Pointe as being "near Troy"', this is not too far off,  but it is actually located in Rochester Hills at 1015 S. Livermore Road.

I want to return one more time to share a few more of the features of this memorial. At a bit over 5 acres, there is much to see here.

One of the unusual things I found was a string of stones with the names of scouts on them.

 

The only thing I was able to learn was that a Scout wanted to enhance the site as his Eagle Scout project. the article I read commented that he had help from several of his fellow Scouts, so that may be the explanation for the placement of the stones. As always, if you know anything about this, I would love to hear from you. 

Elsewhere, I came across stones immortalizing fellow vets.

Two among others.

Lastly, this bench. I just liked the way it looked.

Next time, on the 3rd of February, we will return to North Carolina, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Massachusetts XXXVI

The last time I wrote about this site in Back Bay Fens in Boston I promised to share more from the site. You can check that post out here.

These pictures include two from the reverse of the memorial and one from the front plaza.

This is the full reverse of the memorial. I learned, many years ago, to always walk behind these memorials. More often than not, there is nothing to see, but every once in a while there is a surprise, as I discovered here.

It annoys me when I come across something like this. Here, this well known quote is attributed to anonymous. A few seconds on-line would have informed the makers of this memorial that the quote is from John S. Mill, a British politician from the 1800s. OK, so actually, in addition, it is a misquote and perhaps that is why it is not correctly attributed.

One might easily argue that it is a small thing and not worth commenting on, but I wonder if this is sloppy planning or what. I have served on committees that have built Vietnam memorials and we broke our butts trying to be accurate, to get it right. It just makes me wonder.

This map of 'Nam is on the front plaza of the site. What is hard to see are the various markings of specific places but there are several.

Next time, on the 29th of January, we will return to Michigan. So, as always, join me there at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Maryland XLV

For a number of posts now I have been saying, at the end of each post, that soon we would hear from Elli from Maryland.

Well, today is the day.

While traveling to Maryland's famous eastern shore Elli came upon a memorial near Libby's Coastal Kitchen restaurant in Stevensville. It is a replica of the statue of the Three Servicemen found near The Wall in Washington, DC.

These are a few of the pics she so kindly sent to me.

The owner of the restaurant, Walter Petrie dedicated this memorial to three of his fellow solders who were killed in 'Nam. It is not too often that you find a memorial placed by one man.

The men from his unit are named and honored on this plaque:

Michael Twigg

Raymond Knight

Loyd McBroom

Thank you, Mr. Petrie, you honor us all.

So, if you find yourself traveling east in Maryland on Rte 50, over the Bay Bridge, on to Kent Island, stop by Mr. Petrie's Libby's Coastal Kitchen in Stevensville. Have a bite, maybe a drink and honor these three fallen and the other fifty eight thousand plus who gave all for our efforts in Vietnam and the Vietnamese people.

Libby's is located at 357 Pier One Road. 

The next time I write about this site, I will point out something I noticed about it, something I have never seen before.

Next time, on the 24th of January, we will return to Massachusetts. So, as always, join me there at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Colorado XLIII

Once again I want to highlight this remarkable site in Fountain, which on several posts on this site I have referred to as Fountain Valley which is what the greeting sign says, but it seems the actual town name is Fountain.

You can see those other posts here, here, and here.

Fountain is a little south and east of Colorado Springs and about an hour and a half from Denver.

 Today, a few more of the heroes honored and forever remembered here.

 

Next time, on the 19th of January, we will return to Maryland. So, as always, join me there at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

California XLIV

As promised prior to my winter holiday break, today we are back on track and in California. 

Westminster is one of my early stops on this journey and to witness, and share with you, its remarkable growth is a highlight for me.

This small park, named Sid Goldstein Freedom Park is full of monuments and heroes.

When I first visited, in 2011, there was only the single memorial to the two vets: one American and one Vietnamese. You can see that post here.

Now, there are several more, see one of them here,

Westminster has a large Vietnamese population ( the largest in Orange County) and they have not forgotten their history and losses, nor our sacrifices and contributions.

Here they honor some of their heroes of the war.

 

Black April recalls the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. It is difficult to believe that in a few short months it will be the 50th Anniversary.

The City of Westminster remembers this day each year. 

See more here: Warning this is not intended for the very young and may be triggering for some others.

https://www.westminster-ca.gov/government/city-channel-wtv/black-april

Next time, on the 14th of January, we will return to Colorado. So, as always, join me there at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Seasons Greertings 2024 IV

So, this will be my final deviation from the usual Vietnam memorials posts for this year (2024) even though it will post in 2025.

Leaving Delaware and heading out west I came upon these from one of my favorite places in the country: New Mexico.

These Chili Ristras are ubiquitous in New Mexico and often quite long. Maybe not as long as these which must measure more than 6 feet.

One sees all kinds of elaborately colored vehicles here.

This structure, just off my friends property, is a mystery.

This photo is actually a Trompe l'oeil or Trick of the Eye. While it appears to be a photo of a girl through several doors or portals, it is actually a painting on a wall through the open door.

New Mexico is renowned by artist for its majestic light.

No explanation necessary for this one.

Next time, on the 9th of January, I will return to the posts of Vietnam memorials. So, check back to see if I find something from California. As always, at 9:00 am. 

To see Vietnam memorials from any state and Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico click on the individual names on the left side of this page.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed,