Washington XIV

 The 1047 from Washington lost in Vietnam are remembered and honored here, in Olympia, forever. You can read a little more about this beautiful site here.

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As I have been doing of later, today, I will add some knowledge and honor to a few.

Jerry Wayne McGlothlan

SP4 McGlothlan was aboard a chopper on a mission. The weather was so bad that they were ordered back to base. That was the last that was heard from them. Some days later the crash site was located and McGlothlan was positively identified. He "died while missing" presumably on the day of the crash, June 9, 1970, in the Tay Ninh Province.

As an aside, his Purple Heart was stolen from of a car and ended up some years later in a pawn shop. A Marine vet saw it, paid over 200 bucks for it and tracked down McGlothlan family to return it to them. In 1916 they were trying to locate his son who had been adopted, to give it to him. I cannot track down if this effort weas successful.

Ronald Edgar Playford

LCPL Ronald Playford was lost on March 24, 1969, at Quang Tri Province. He was lost to "other explosive device..."

Lonnie Melroe Swinson

MSGT Lonnie Swinson was lost when his vehicle hit a mine on September 11, 1970, in the Tay Ninh Province. He was awarded several medals for his gallant service.

All three of the above heroes were from Yelm, Washington.

Next time, on July 2nd, we will return to West Virginia, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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.

Washington V

As I prepare for these trips, I spend many, many hours researching exactly where Vietnam Memorials are located. I never have the time I would like to have while on the road, so I work very hard not to waste it.

In the couple of months I was planning this trip I searched and searched for a memorial in Seattle. I could find nothing. I called various Veterans organizations and could get nowhere. It just did not seem possible to me that a city the size of Seattle could possibly not have a memorial. There must have been hundreds from the city and its surrounds who were lost in this effort. but, I found nothing.

While in the city, I kept looking and calling local organizations but mostly got no answer or recorded messages. Finally, I heard back from the local V.V.A. and they assured me that there was no Vietnam memorial in Seattle and that I would need to go to Olympia to see the state memorial.

So, I admitted defeat, I was not going to find a memorial in Seattle.

On the ride into the downtown area on the light rail, I got talking to some locals about this and they did not seem to be surprised. They spoke of fairly heavy war resistance in the city and that a memorial would be unlikely.

Later, after just wandering around for a bit, I asked a couple of guys who seemed like they might be of the Vietnam era. They said, "It's two blocks down this street, on the left." They told me that it was, however, out of business, that there was no money to support it any longer. Ironically, neither of these two gentlemen was a veteran.

Well, I walked down to the corner of University and 2nd and there was a Wall. and it was covered with names. It was a memorial to the 8000 or so, who were lost since WWII, there were hundreds and hundreds of names listed for some of the various wars and just a few for others. I was shocked. I read that all 1122 from Washington are etched here, forever, upon this Wall. In fairness, a couple of people, including the guy from VVA mentioned this memorial, but they did not seem to think that it would  meet my criteria and showed no enthusiasm for spelling out just where it was, just kind of blew it off, perhaps because it is considered by some, at least, to be "out of business."

Needless to say, I was happy to find that Seattle had, in fact, honored her lost sons and daughters and that our brothers and sisters lost in 'Nam were prominent among all the others remembered here.

After searching some more on line I discovered that this was called a Garden of Remembrance and that at one time had featured waterfalls and standing pools as part of the site. This is what the guys meant, I guess, when they said it was "out of business." I hope that one day it is returned to its former glory, but even in its present condition it still pays tribute to so many. It was designed, by the way, by a man who spent time in a "internment camp" in America during WWII and who later served in the Armed forces.

I learned, perhaps relearned, a lesson in perseverance. I just could not let it go, I think I was making Steve, a bit crazy, but in the end it paid off.

Next time, on December 4th, we will return to Arizona to visit the second portion of the memorial in Bull Head City. so, join me there, as always. at 9:00am.

To see additional memorial sites from Washington, or any other state, click the state name on the left side of this page.

Washington

This beautiful memorial, the second of two, sits on the Capitol grounds in Olympia. The original marker which was not well received by surviving vets became the impetus to create this new one.

Dedicated in 1987, it sits on a 45 foot base which is designed so that anyone, a vet, a child, someone in a wheelchair, can touch the 1116 names inscribed and honored here, forever.

Purposely placed on a grassy knoll, under this magnificent tree it offers a place of quite peace and solitude for any that visit. The rolling design of the top represents the ups and downs of everyday life until it reaches the split caused by the war. The split represents the break in the cycle of life caused by war.

The names are listed in chronological order of loss from July 1963 to May 1975. A small cross denotes those still MIA. As at many sites, mementos and keepsakes are left by visitors and mourners. these are all collected and kept in the state archives.

Another interesting point is that the state of Washington provided some funding for the project, but the fundraising activity of the planners was so successful, raising the money from 1466 private donors that the state money was returned. Most of the donors contributed less than 25 dollars. So, this one, too was built by the people.

I had an opportunity to speak with a number of folks in the Capitol building and the Park Service representative, on site, and all were enthusiastic and helpful and I thank them.

The last picture in this series is of the view from near the site. I just think it is too beautiful not to include.