New York XXXII

New York, as you may know, holds the dubious honor of having lost the second most of her sons and daughters in the Vietnam war. Only California lost more. Of the 4119 lost, I would like to honor a few today.

 

 

This monument honors but a few of the many noted above.

 

Today, these:

 

 

 

Cpl. Heinz was lost in Thua Thien on March 4th, 1968. 

Barry Bidwell is one of the still remaining MIAs and has a home record of Greensburg, Pennsylvania and found his way to Springfield. This hits home with me as my long departed mother was born in Greensburg, too. He was lost in a plane crash and his remains were never recovered

LCPL Ellis was lost in Quang Tri on July 7, 1969.

Sgt. Crosby is also listed among the MIAs. It seems odd to me to have two of the four from Springfield as MIAs. I hope their families some day, some how find peace.

I am sure that in the future I will have the honor of honoring additional heroes from New York.

I ask you to join me on the 1st of July when we will return to to add and honor a few more faces, 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.

Oregon VII

There is not too much info on this site to be found, I wonder how many times I have written those words on this site?

 Springfield, Oregon honors 16 from the area and Lane County with this memorial in a local park.

Located on the corner of Mohawk Blvd. and I Street it is guarded by a Howitzer and "old glory."

The Roses caught my eye as an interesting contrast to the granite and stone. Not the best pics I have ever taken, but it was raining and the light was very poor, I think you can get the idea.

So, next time, on the 14th, we will return, one more time, to Philadelphia. You may recall that part of the memorial was torn down not so long ago. Well, it has been rebuilt and I think better that ever, so check back on the 14th, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Illinois XIV

I know that last time I said we would be in Louisiana today, but I ran across this small memorial in Virginia, Illinois and thought I would share it. We will move on to Louisiana, next time.

I was just driving, headed somewhere else, when we came upon this one, yes, my lifelong buddy, Steve, was with me on this trip.

It isn't huge, it lists no names and is dedicated to the lost of more than one war, but as I have said before, this is often the way of small towns. many just do not have the resources to build new memorials to every war we seem to get involved in. The 2010 census counts 1611 in this city 30 miles northwest of Springfield.

This one is located on the N.E. corner of the Court House lawn at S. Main and E.Springfield Streets.

I was not able to discover just how many were lost from Cass County, but I did find that two from Virginia are among them.

So, next time , on the 25th we will check out Louisiana once again, so join me there, as always, at 9:00am.

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

Massachusetts III

I've written previously about a memorial in Springfield, Mass. but today I want to visit one unlike any I have seen before.

Located in the Winchester Square section of Springfield is the only memorial I have ever seen solely to African American soldiers lost in the war. In truth, dating itself considerably, it refers to Negro soldiers and proudly lists the names of the five men from the area who were lost.

The granite memorial boasts an eagle perched upon a bundle that may arrows, but since it has leaves I am not positive about that identification.


It can be found on the corner of State Street and Eastern Ave.

And, remember today to take a few moments and remember these fallen and all who have served our country on this Veteran's Day 2013.

Next time, we will visit the "other" Michigan Vietnam memorial in Lansing. Join me at 9:00am on the 16th.

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

Illinois II

 

The area being prepared for the second wall is just adjacent right to this one

Cutting the last few names into the Wall

All of these vets are part of Larry's family

Steve got a pic of me and Larry

On the road to Springfield, we (my buddy Steve was with me on this trip) noticed a National Guard tent on the side of the road and there was someone working on what was obviously a memorial. We pulled in and met the guys working there. It turned out to not be a specifically Vietnam memorial, but the story was just too good to let go by.

The guy who was behind this veteran's memorial is Larry Beck. He is Vietnam vet dealing with major Agent Orange issues. He decided to build a memorial to all vets from his area and attempted to get the permissions and other such stuff to get started. Well, for reasons unknown he could not get all the legal stuff out of the way. He did what any of us would do! He built it anyway. The memorial sits in a park in Spaulding, Ill. and I asked him what he would do if the powers that be took it down? He said, "I'll just put it back up!" In fact, he showed me a spot nearby that is being cleared for another wall.

A unique feature of this site is that groups of vets from the same family are together. Larry told me he has 14 vets in his family and they are all in a family group on the wall. Other related vets are grouped similarly. The dedication of this Wall was in just a few days and the guys were working furiously to get all the names cut into the bricks. They were confident that they would be finished on time. You can see the markings, tape and guides on the wall that were still being completed the day we were there.

My own observation is that he does not have to worry about anybody tearing down the Wall. No politician in his right mind wants to be known as the guy who tore down the veteran's memorial, so I am sure it is safe.

If you get to Spaulding, not far from Springfield, check this site out. It is a tribute not only to vets but to spirit and determination of those who decided it must be built. Great work Larry and all who participated.

Join me on the 17th for the next post from Mt. Pulaski, Illinois where there is a monument to two sons of Illinois, as always, at 9:00am.

Illinois

The entrance road to the site is lined with flags, the wind has them in full display, today !

The Illinois Vietnam Memorial

The eternal flame

Names of the lost are inscribed on the black granite walls, reminiscent of The Wall in D.C.

Each of the services songs is inscribed upon its particular wall

Medal of Honor awardees and POW/MIA's are honored

Once, again, Forrest Gump has been proven right. You never know what you're going to find. I was distraught when I had a computer problem that cost me any number of photos. These pics had been backed up, twice, and the whole system failed. The pics, mostly from Missouri and Illinois were just gone!

After trying everything I, and every computer person I know, tried to do to retrieve them failed, I finally realized that I had to return to these two states to retake the photos.

When I visited Springfield the first time, I had a lot of trouble tracking down the site and then had to wait a day or so for the rain to let up. As a result, when I visited the Oak Ridge Cemetery, where the memorial is situated, it was wet, cloudy, cold, dank and not particularly conducive to good photos.

As you can see from these pics, all that had changed! The sky was beautiful, the trees in color, the wind was blowing the flags and all in all I am just happier with these pics. So, thanks Forrest for putting it in to perspective!

The Illinois State Vietnam memorial is dedicated to the 3009 who were lost or are still missing. I have read many sites that all have differing numbers but this is the highest I have found so far. I have a call into the site and if they give me different stats, I will certainly report them here.

Each of the five walls represents a branch of service. These support an eternal flame which honors all and this create five courts for rest and reflection. The POW/MIA's are honored separately from the known lost.

The memorial was the project of two local vets who attended the dedication of The Wall In D.C. in 1982. They wanted to honor all their friends and all who had made the ultimate sacrifice in 'Nam. The untimely and unexpected death of one of them only served to make the other more determined to finish the memorial.

Located at 1500 Monument Ave, Springfield, IL 62702, The Oak Ridge Cemetery honors other wars and warriors and is also the resting place of  Abraham Lincoln. One could spend quite some time in this sacred place and still probably not absorb it all.

Illinois proved to have some very interesting Vietnam sites. Keep checking back to continue the journey. The next post will be at 9:00am on the 12th. See you then.

Missouri VII

The Court of Honor

The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum

St. Louis, the last stop in Missouri, as all vets know, is the home to the military records center as well as other important military sites and activity. It is no surprise, then, that with all this heavy military presence that the city should boast The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum. The museum has been open for decades and is free to the public. It contains many exhibits and memorabilia, primarily from WWII. It is seen in the last photo here. It is located at 1315 Chestnut Street.

Directly in front of the museum is The Court of Honor. Here are commemorated the many from the St. Louis area who have served and given their all. The most recent addition is dedicated to the 214 from the area that made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.

It was here, in the court that I chanced to meet the director of the museum and that encounter led to my being interviewed by a local radio station, a first for me. I will jump at any means to get the word out about this site,  A Means To Heal, to spread the word to vets and anyone else that might be interested. If you would like to listen in to that interview, it is archived by the radio station (KDHX) here;

http://kdhx.org/ondemand/podcasts/vetnet/us-vietnam-memorials

Next, we will slip over the river into Illinois. The state memorial is at Springfield and that is where we will begin. See you on the 7th at 9:00am.

Tennessee II

In Springfield, Tn. I found this memorial to the 13 from the area who perished in 'Nam. It is located on the grounds of the Robinson County Court House at 5th and Main streets.

I, also, found this link to a memorial site for Darrell Heatherly, the first man listed on this simple, yet elegant, granite memorial. It is a fitting tribute.

http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/heatherly.htm