Virginia XXVIII

 I was surprised on my several trips to, and research about Roanoke, Virginia that I could find no memorial to Vietnam. It seemed odd that a town of this size would not have anything at all.

It was not until quite sometime later that I discovered that Vinton and Roanoke counties has joined forces to remember and honor all of their lost heroes.

This beautiful memorial does exactly that.

Actually located on a knoll in Vintner, it, appropriately, is called the High ground. All vets will know just what that means. It is at least the second memorial that I have visited with that designation. The other is in Neillsville, Wisconsin and can be seen here and here.

The gazebo like memorial was unveiled in 2011 and honors all who have been lost and all who serve.

The memorial sits on the grounds of a event facility on 11.5 acres

The High Ground designation. for those who may not know, it is said that "a soldier always looks for the high ground" as it is safer.

These are just a couple of views of the memorial and in the not too distant future I will post more with the specifics of those of our lost comrades honored here. The central flag is bronze and I think it is just beautiful.

The memorial may be located at 814 E Washington Ave, Vinton, VA 24179

Next time, on the 6th, we will revisit West Virginia, so meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Virginia, 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, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks!

Wisconsin XII Faces of Remembrance

We have visited the High Ground before and I promised we would return.

Today, in keeping with my sub grouping of Faces of Remembrance, we will honor these faces from the original statue at the site, called, Fragments.

The artist that created the work would not sign it as he felt it was signed by the many names of the lost inscribed here, their families and all affected by the war. He said it was signed by "all of us."

This face, when examined closely, is that of a women, aiding all the others, carrying the burden of their loss. She is said to be the first woman ever featured on a Vietnam memorial.

This severely injured soldier is being aided and supported by all the others.

This face is unclear to me. My first impression is of someone very young, and his attire is inconclusive. when you watch the YouTube video on the site, they speak of the wars impact on families and children and just as the word children is uttered, this face appears. I am trying to track down if that was purposeful or simply coincidental. I will, of course keep you apprised of any info I find.

Next time on the 14th, we will revisit Wyoming, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Wisconsin

This memorial began with a promise to a dying friend. In 1965, in the fields of Vietnam, Tom Miller made a vow to his dying friend; that his death would never be forgotten. In 1984, Miller and others began the actual work of planning, site selection, fund raising and all the necessary work to make this promise, a reality. By 1986 the first permanent fixture was in place and the work has been ongoing ever since.

It is hard for me to know where to begin when writing about Wisconsin's memorial. Located in Neillsville, it brings to mind Bob Seger's line about "what to leave in and what to leave out" There is just so much! I will try to do this magnificent site justice, but I fear my abilities will be found lacking.

One thing to mention is that those who operate the site point out that this is a Veteran's Memorial, not a war memorial. I have been struck as I travel to so many sites how often this the case.

I first visited the site in the evening, really too late to take any decent pictures. I just walked around and took the place in as well as I could. Even in the evening people were coming in, in ones and twos, to walk the silent grounds. To remember, to heal, to just visit.

There is a nice visitors center on site which was closed too, but I later found out that it was built by vets, for vets. I decided that I would return the next day to check this remarkable, visionary, dare I say, sacred, spot out more completely. It was a decision that turned out to be one of the best I have made on these journeys.

The next day, the sky was clear and blue and the memorial was even more enthralling. What I expected to be a visit of an hour or so turned into one that lasted much of the day. The people here welcomed me with open arms and when they discovered what I was trying to do, they could not have been more helpful. My main contact was named Joyce and she just bent over backwards to see that I had what I wanted to do this place justice. Thank you, again, Joyce!

After some conversation, she insisted that I take the self guided tour of the site. This is not something I always have the time (or patience) to do. She was 100% correct! The info provided on the tour was great. If you get to this site, take the time. You won't regret it!

One of the primary things you learn is that the area is called The High Ground, not surprisingly because it is! The site was not chosen because of this, but, vets noticed it right away and the name has stuck. It sits on 140 acres of beautiful Wisconsin land and the site was chosen because it sits in the geographical center of the state. Anyone in the state can drive to, visit and return home in one day. This was one of the primary goals of the planners; that all be able to visit without extraordinary expense. Joyce told me that the local motel which has some other name now answers its phones "The High Ground", so it has become the norm.

Read the plaque (pic 3) as it explains far better than I can the significance of the components of the statue, Fragments. Also, this is the first memorial to feature a woman, look closely at the statue and you can see that the poncho wearing figure is in fact a woman and from her poncho hang the bronze rods naming each of those lost. This is her burden.

Remember, if you 'click" on a picture, it will enlarge in a new window!

Note in the final picture the wristbands and beaded key chains etc that visitors have left on the statue. More about the key chains, later.

Also, note the inverted rifle (pics 2 and 5). This was a sign that a medivac was needed.

I will spend the next couple of posts here at The High Ground. There is much to tell, before moving on to some more beautiful and unusual sites in Wisconsin.

Here is specific contact information;

The Highground

W7031 Ridge Road

Neillsville, WI 54456

Phone: (715) 743 - 4224

www.thehighground.org/