Utah IX

Price, Utah calls their memorial to many wars The Peace Garden. I have featured it in the past and you can check out that post here.

 

 

 

On the base of the statue are listed names of the lost. When I first saw it, I mistakenly thought there were five, but five more are listed on the other side. I do not know if that was by design or if the numbers changed over time. It is fairly rare to find a memorial that has not had additions made with the passage of the years. 

 

Today, I will honor three of the ten. 

 

Robert R. Anderson

 

Sp4 Anderson had only three days left before rotation. He was killed on March 16, 1967 at Tay Ninh when his truck hit a mine. He never had a chance to meet his new born son.

 

Richard P. Donathan

 

LCPL Donathan was lost on August 10, 1966 in a fierce battle with the NVA in Quang Tin Province. He was from Colorado and is remembered on the North Slope Memorial but is buries in Price City, Utah and is honored, too, on the memorial in The Peace Garden.

 

Johnny S. Martinez

 

LCPL Martinez deliberately entered a mine field to rescue two Vietnamese children who had wandered into it. He accidentally triggered a mine which mortally wounder him. He lost his live on November 28th,1968 in the Quang Nam Province. A Hero two times over.

 

Next time, on August 25th, we will return to Vermont, to honor others so worthy of our admiration and never ending respect. Join me there, at 9:00 am., as always.

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, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and 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 and/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 and join the group!