Mississippi X

Mississippi was the state that started it all. I tell some of that story here if you care to take a look at the earliest posts on A Means To Heal.

While visiting I noticed that there were a number of names listed without actual photos, so now all these years later, I decides to see if any of those photos had been found through the efforts of the VVMF's efforts to put a face to every name. According to WLOX there are still 65 photos missing from the memorial. This seems high to me so i will post any new info if I run across it.

This project, originally intended to present a picture of every face at the (now defunct) Education Center at The Wall in DC.

 

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, when I took these photos I was not thinking about posting individual faces, so I did not properly record the names. If you know these men, please let me know and I will gladly update. 

These faces and most of the 669 lost from Mississippi can be found at the Ocean Springs Memorial, about 10 miles East of Biloxi, Mississippi on Rte 90. Watch for it on the right as you head East.

Next time, on the the of May 21, we will venture, again, to  Montana to honor a few of the fallen, so, join me, as always, at 9:00 am.

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.

Next time, on the 21st of May, we will venture, again, to Montana to honor a few of the fallen, so, join me, as always, at 9:00 am.

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.

Mississippi IX

Ocean Springs, as I am sure I have mentioned before, is very special to me as it was the site of my very first venture into this project. It happened simply by chance. I had retired and decided to tag along with my wife on a business trip she had to Pascagoula. We had talked many times about my desire to begin this project but that was as far as it ever got: talking.  

She left our hotel in Biloxi that first day to go to her meetings. Within ten minutes she had called me and said the Mississippi Vietnam memorial was nearby and that I should begin this project NOW. 

I did just that and the rest as we say is history. You can see those very first photographs here, here, and here, to name but a few.

Also previously stated is the fact that actual photographs of our lost brothers an sisters are fairly rare, so when I have the chance I will always post them here.

Today, a few more.

One of my great regrets is that when I started this endeavor I did not think that I would in fact be posting faces. The Faces of Remembrance sub-group to this site was way off in the future at this time. so, I did not record the names of those who are honored in Ocean Springs. their names are listed at the site, but alas, I did not think to record them. If you are ever in Ocean Springs which is about 10 miles east of Biloxi you will see the memorial on the right hand side of the road. 

Check it out: say their names.

For now that is it. I may be able to pull a few more faces off the memorial in the future. If I am successful, count on seeing them here.

Next time, on the 24th, we will revisit Missouri, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Mississippi, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list.

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, and Molly from Florida 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.

Mississippi VIII

If you have followed along with this effort you may know that the very first memorial I visited was in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I have told the story and featured various post about that trip a number of times over the years. You can find those posts here, here, and here.

I return today as it is such an important site to me. As I have said in other posts, it speaks to the resilience of vets and the respect of those who created it.

These are three more of the faces from the site for my ongoing Faces of Remembrance series. As long as I can find faces, I will honor them here.

It saddens me, now, that when I took these pictures, I had no idea how this site would look. If I had I would have been more careful about recording the names and other information about these lost heroes.

It is said that "as long as someone says your name, you will never be gone." These photos will have to do. But, if you ever visit Ocean Springs, stop and see this memorial. 

 

And, say their names.

When I visited these many years ago, I noted that several of the names listed on the memorial did not have a photo on display. The creators of the site had posted a request for anyone who might know of a photo to send it to them. I called today to see if all the names had been matched with a photo or how many were still incomplete. If I hear from those in charge, I will update this post with the information.

Next time, on May 1st, we will return to New Mexico, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Mississippi, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please check out Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico which have been added to the list on the left.

As is now my custom,  I will ask anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not shown here, to send then to me and I will include them (giving you full credit.) Any number of you have added knowledge and honor to this site by doing just that. It is always appreciated and makes this effort better, more completed. Thanks to those who have contributed and to anyone who will do so now or in the future.

Mississippi VII

I have written several times over the course of this effort about the very first memorial I ever photographed. If you simply click on Mississippi on the left side of this page you will find several posts about it.

Today, like the last time I wrote about Mississippi, I am going to feature a few more of the faces from their memorial.

There are few words to be said here. If I had been more certain of how this journey was going to unfold, I might have thought to find out more about the individual faces seen here and elsewhere, but I did not.

So, I throw it out to you. Anyone from Mississippi, or anywhere else for that matter, know these guys? If so, you can reach me at the email to the left. Sometimes I hear from some of you and I am always delighted to hear your thoughts, stories, and in some cases, corrections.

Next time, on the 2nd, we will return to Nebraska for a few more Faces of Remembrance, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left.

Mississippi VI

Mississippi was the very first memorial I visited on this journey, nearly 10 years ago. I was there about two years after Katrina devastated the southern coast and was astounded at how little had been done to restore the area.

This project, at the time, was still roaming around my head with no real plan of how, or when, to start. I discovered the memorial and spent several days trying to photograph it properly, but what struck me about it was its resilience, if you will. It survived, somehow, when much of what surrounded it was just gone.

These faces, just a couple from the many, say the same to me. Resilience. I think they speak volumes about vets and our never ending efforts to live, love, survive. These did not return

So, as you look at these guys, remember that.

Some of us struggle much more than others. These three and the 658 others from Mississippi never got the chance to try.

So, on the 5th of August we will return to New Jersey, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

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

Mississippi III

I was browsing the internet, searching for new sites, when I came upon a photo that said "Mississippi Vietnam Memorial" I knew it was not "THE" Mississippi Vietnam Memorial because I had already visited that one in Ocean Springs. Long time readers may remember that it was the one that got this project off the ground.

Additional research told me who the sculptor of the second memorial was and I called her. We had a great conversation and she explained that they had not meant "THE" Mississippi memorial but the Mississippi memorial that they had done, located in Tunica. After she filled me in on it some, she said, "When you visit it, please come to Memphis and see us, we are only 30 miles away.

So, after visiting Tunica and the memorial I drove to Memphis. I had only intended to drop in and spend a few minutes, but they were such nice people I ended up spending much of a day with them. This was interesting because they told me a lot about the sculpting process. but, the big surprise came just as I was getting ready to leave. Her husband said, "Hey, he should go meet "Charlie!" she said, "What a great idea, let me give him a call" I said, "Who is Charlie?" I couldn't believe what she said next. "Charlie is the guy who cut the names on The Wall in D.C. and he lives here in Memphis. Well. I had a great meeting with "Charlie" and perhaps I will write more about that in a later post. Now, let's get back to the Tunica, Mississippi Vietnam Memorial.

Tunica is a small town, perhaps best known, these days, for gambling and in the center of a median strip through town is the memorial.

The theme of this one, like so many others, is of buddies helping buddies. It makes me wonder why we seem to be able to do this in war time, but not so much in our every day lives.

 

The final two shots are of the signs located in the little plaza.

These have a little info not always seen. The breakdown of deaths and injuries is unusual and of course changes from year to year, so to see "Historical" notes is interesting. This past May, 14 more names were added to The Wall in D.C. bringing the total to 58,300. One additional name has already been designated for addition next May, I wonder if it will be the last?

Next time, on the 12th, we will return to Montana, so, as always, join me there at 9:00am.

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

Mississippi

I happened to be in Mississippi when we discovered the memorial. It is located a few miles east of Biloxi in a town called Ocean Springs. It was the very first one I photographed and has lead to all the rest, so it is special to me.

Another thing that makes it special is that it was built at the request of the local Vietnamese community who wanted to say thank you for our efforts in their homeland. The site is, also, dedicated to the 68,000 living vets and states that "... our nation is made stronger by their service, sacrifice, courage, valor and honor."

The memorial consists of an open air building that contains all the names of those who perished or are missing (667, which includes 18 MIA) etched beneath likenesses. A number of the names are below blank spaces where a likeness could not be found. Information on site requests that anyone who might have such a picture forward it to MVVMC for inclusion. It struck me, while there (last Feb), that Biloxi and the surrounding area are still devastated by Katrina and that if all of these names and faces had not been etched into the granite stones, they might have been lost, forever.

The site is located in a small park that has other memorials in it, also. It contains walking paths, benches for reflection etc. In addition, there is a "Huey." It is located on Rte. 90, 3 and a half miles east of Washington Ave and is well marked.

MVVMC may be reached at MVVMC@bellsouth.net