Virginia XIII

Last year, while wandering the Marine Corp Museum in Triangle, Virginia, I came a cross an area that, at least from the road was difficult to get to without climbing guard rails, etc. so, that's what I did. I had been down to see the Take Me Home Huey exhibit featured at the Museum on Memorial Day weekend. You can find more info on this fantastic project elsewhere on A Means to Heal, too.

Good choice. I found a memorial to military dogs and a few mentions of Vietnam service along the walkway, which, it turns out was easily accessible form elsewhere. I will write about these at a future date.

This memorial to the class of '67 includes the name of Victor David Westphall whose parents built the first national memorial in Angle Fire New Mexico after Victor was killed in 'Nam. I have featured this spectacular site elsewhere on this effort and have often said that seeing the memorial in new Mexico is largely responsible for this on going project, to honor as many as possible.

The memorial honors the 39 men from BOC class 5, 1967 who were lost in 'Nam. they became known as the boys of '67 and Lt Westphall was one of them.

 A reminder to us all.


Next time, on the28th, we will venture back to Oregon, so, as always, join me there at 9:00am.

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

Virginia VII

I returned to the Marine Museum in Triangle, Virginia to explore the numerous monuments they have along the beautiful walkway.

Note the name places along the lower side.

Nearly all of the monuments are dedicated to one unit or another, but this one stuck me as a bit unusual. Nowhere on it does the word Vietnam ever appear. All of the noted losses are from the era, but if you didn't recognize some of the places named along each side, you might never know.

All of the losses recorded here are from 1967-1969

More name places on this side, too.

Many are listed on tribute bricks surrounding the site.

Located near the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, the site is easily seen from the road and is well marked off route 95, south of Washington, D.C.

I will post other monuments from this incredible site in future posts.

Next time, we will return to Wisconsin, so join me there as always at 9:00am on the 10th of April.

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

Virginia VI

As promised, I made it back to Triangle, Va. home of the Quantico Marine Base and the Marine Corp Museum.

This time I was able to locate the"Ugly Angels" memorial up near the Chapel that sits on the hill nearby. I was surprised to see that it is bigger than I had guessed from viewing another photograph. I would guess that it is about 5 feet by three. I got to wondering about the name and took the following from the website. The URL follows the story.

Many stories have been told through the years of how the squadron received the name Ugly Angels, but only a few have proven to be true. It is said that the helicopter herself was so ugly, yet she was called an angel because she descended from the heavens to save the souls of her war weary men. It has also been told that a Marine while being rescued made the statement: " You are the ugliest angel I have ever seen", and from there the name was adopted the "Ugly Angels". Before the squadron gained their well-known name they were referred to as Archie's Angels, after their first commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Archie Clapp. They arrived in Vietnam in April of 1962 and answered the prayers of many wounded Marines until August of 1969. The Ugly Angels were the longest serving squadron in Vietnam and during a seven-year service, 33 brave crewmen gave the ultimate sacrifice for their fellow Marines. For every one of the 33 men who lost their lives, a great number were saved. It is at this moment that we as a nation should realize that freedom is never free!

You can find much more information here;

http://www.popasmoke.com/recent.html?subaction=showfull&id=1111885036&archive=&start_from=&ucat=5

The memorial is, also, called the "Broken Wing" (see the third picture) and it memorializes the 33 men lost in 'Nam. Their names, rank, and date they were lost are listed on the half aviator's wing.

The other picture is of a memorial that sits just across the walk from the "Ugly Angels" It, as can be seen is to a number of marine involvements, not just Vietnam, but, I liked it.