South Carolina IX

I've not spent too much time in South Carolina but some of the memorials there are quite beautiful. the one in Columbia, the state memorial, is pretty amazing and you can see my original posts of it here.

Today, I have tried to pull some of the faces depicted upon the memorial. These, like so many, were taken before the idea to create the Faces of Remembrance series ever occurred to me, so there are not all I hoped they might be, but, I still want to honor them.

Difficult to see but a pilot in flight headgear.

Members of several branches are featured and you can tell that some have worn over the years. I wonder if there is a program to help restore them. I have seen this at other sites and if you click on Kansas, to the left, you can find a post about a restoration project I just happened upon at the University.

These faces represent and honor the 980 South Carolinians who were lost in 'Nam. The memorial is located in Memorial Park in Columbia.

Next time, on the 21st we will return to South Dakota, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Washington XVII

This is at least the third memorial I have found in Whatcom County and it is beautiful, and a bit confusing at the same time.

Set in this lovely memorial park it honors many of various wars.

 On this first wing, honoring all lost: world-wide deaths in the southeast Asia conflicts, American deaths, and Whatcom County deaths.

On this wing, the 28 names from Whatcom County.

 Pavers around the base name other who served.

The park may be found at King and E. Maryland Streets in Bellingham.

Next time, on the24th, we will return  to Alabama, so meet 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.

Maryland XXI

Thurmont lies just a short drive above Frederick, Md. It is well known for its beauty and its apples, among other things. It, also, honors its service men and women with a Memorial Park that honors all that served.

Among the several memorials here is one dedicated to all the residents who served in 'Nam.

Two among these were lost and their names are marked with a + to denote their service and ultimate sacrifice.

As is nearly always the case, names have been added after the dedication. As you know if you follow this page we recently dedicated a memorial in my county. We worked for nine years to get it done and part of that effort was a an ongoing attempt to be accurate, to ensure that every veteran that was lost or remains missing was included. the numbers changed as we found more and more names. we thought we had done a terrific job finding all. On the day of the dedication, a lady approached me and said that one of the names marked as MIA had, in fact, been recovered and interred at Arlington National Cemetery. We didn't make it one day. If we can confirm this,  a correction will be made to be sure. So, as I said, it seems to happen all the time.

Memorial Park is located at 116 Main Street.

Next time, on the 21st, we will travel back to New Jersey, so meet me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

Nebraska V

The final stop in Nebraska will, again, be in Omaha. Memorial Park was dedicated by President Truman in 1948 and has continued to grow since that time. In 1959, rose gardens, containing more than 100 bushes,  were added to the '67 acre site and in 1968 a pedestrian foot bridge was added.

The park was the scene of a number of anti-Vietnam rallies and demonstrations during the 60's and 70's.

The above plaque fronts the statue and speaks to Korea and Vietnam's lost. the one below is on the side of the statue. Note the dates on the top one and the added names upon the second one.

Sitting on a high hill, over looking the city, the park honors all who have served but Vietnam has several components here. First, the POW/MIA Flag. I know this has been become a more general acknowledgement of those who were POW/MIA from any war. But, it will always mean 'Nam to me. As I have written on other posts, it was designed originally for those in 'Nam and will remain so for me.

I couldn't find exact information about the statue but it seems to be a soldier holding a small emaciated boy. the boy is holding the soldiers canteen. I expect that this may be a WWII statue as the large Wall behind the statue is dedicated to and lists the names of the lost from WWII, but as I have no definitive information (and could not find any on line) this may not be the case. Also, two of the plaques, as mentioned above, refer to Korea and Vietnam.

Next time, we move on to Utah. So, join me in Salt Lake City on the 11th as always at 9:00am.

South Carolina

We drove on to Columbia, South Carolina next. We decided to try out my new GPS and it worked like a charm, took us right to the memorial park.

This particular memorial, at one time, was said to be the largest aside from D.C. It is really beautiful and has some unique components, like Shakespeare's Band of Brother's quote engraved upon the surrounding edge.

A feature not seen before is that after each of the 980 names engraved on the wall is the exact date of the loss or the day they became MIA. MIA's are denoted by a star next to their names. In addition, the names are grouped by county of residence.

There are several etchings on the central pylon depicting scenes from from the war and on the Plaza in front is a slightly raised and labeled map of Southeast Asia. Steve and I were able to point to the places we were and were surprised that he never got as far south as Saigon and I never got as far north as the Capital.

We did not have much time so this is the only site we got to in South Carolina. South Carolinians are very proud of their sons and daughters who served and the state has built numerous monuments and memorials to them. I hope to be able to return to honor more of these fallen heroes.

The memorial is located in Columbia City Memorial Park, on Gadsden between Hampton and Washington Streets.