Louisiana IX

These are additional photos from the memorial in Avondale, Louisiana and a continuation of the previous post.

The memorial has lots of detail and I thought it would be interesting to include some of it for you to see.

The above pic depicts the ferrying of 1000 ARVN troops to a new location.

This pic names the operation "Chopper" and says that it took p;ace in 1962.

Some of the major battles are listed here, including a few of those not so often mentioned.

This field piece stands in what is called the Garden of Honor.

Once again, The Field Cross, but also with what to me is a more modern helmet. Does anyone know if these helmets were used in 'Nam? Did they come in after I was there, 1967- '68? I would love to know, because it just seems wrong, sloppy, to me if this is incorrect.

Next time, on July 3rd, we will visit Maine, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Louisiana VIII

I am always on the lookout for a memorial to become the "official" memorial of a state that does not have one. I have written before about the two memorials in New Orleans and several others throughout the state, but none of these are designated by Louisiana as the "Official" Vietnam memorial.

One of the criteria I use when trying to decide which memorials to include on these pages is; "Does it list names?" If a site lists all the names from a state, then that goes a long way towards my being comfortable calling it an "Official" memorial.

South of new Orleans, about 15 miles, is the Resthaven Park Cemetery and in 2012, just such a memorial was dedicated.

It names the 882 KIA and the 38 MIAs from Louisiana. So far, the only one I have found that does this. I have mentioned before that the one at the Super Dome has been reported to list names, but in my several visits to the site, I have never found them. Here, there are listed and a number of etched scenes that will be familiar to vets and others on either of the two upright stones that make up this memorial.

Called the Louisiana Vietnam Veterans Reflections Monument, it stands, slightly raised in the cemetery. This was a good thing the day I was there as most of the cemetery was under water, (Not uncommon in many places Louisiana, at times) In addition, there are several pieces of military equipment nearby, there, too are from 'Nam.

Located on Highway 90 in Avondale, the exact address is 3450, although it is easy to find once in the area. On 90, coming from N.O. it is on the right side of the road.

So, while this is not an "Official" memorial, it is the closest I have found.

Next time, I will share a few more photos from this site. Join me there on the 28th at 9:00am.

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