New Mexico XXX

I am headed, one more time, to New Mexico. Specifically to Lordsburg which lies along Route 10, about 2 hours west of Las Cruces.

We have visited here before and you can see those posts here and here.

Today, a few more names from the Wall that virtually surrounds this site. It honors many: soldiers from several wars, Border Patrol personnel, Policemen and other First Responders.

These name are all from those lost in 'Nam.

Too often, in my opinion, memorials are rather general. They often recall a war, but not necessarily the individuals who did the actual fighting and especially those who gave all. It may seem that I post a lot of these names and I assure you that I will continue to do so. If a city, state, or town goes to the effort to commemorate these heroes, so will I.

I've located a couple more from this site that I will feature later, but for now I will just say that:

Next time, on October 5th, we will revisit North Carolina, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from New Mexico, or any other state, please click a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list.

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 and Molly 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 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. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Arizona XXXVII

 Last time we visited Arizona, I shared the billboard like memorial in San Manuel. Today, I want to share a few of the faces featured and honored upon it.

These three are the first of the several I will feature over time. An interesting side note is that while looking into who they were, I found that only the third one featured here (Bateman) has any mention of Arizona in the very little I could find written about them. The other two are from elsewhere: Garrett (Texas) and Arriaga (Hawai'i'.) A mystery. If you can help solve it I would love to hear from you. Check the email on the left.

Next time, on the 6th of June, we will return to California, so join me there, as always, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from Arizona, or any other state, please click on a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been recently added to the list.

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 and Molly from Florida have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served 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. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

Washington XXII

I discovered another overlooked memorial while browsing through my pictures from one of my several trips to Washington.

I had really incomplete information about just where this memorial was located and the little I had was of little use to my GPS. So, around and around I drove, nearly giving up, more than once.

Located in Sunset Gardens Cemetery (915 Bypass Highway) in Richland, finally found it overlooking a pretty duck pond.

Placed by VFW Post 7952, it honors 48 from the area.

Next time, on the 15th, we will return to West Virginia, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Washington, or any other state, please click 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!

Maine XX

While perusing various photos I once again reminded that the service of women, our sisters, is often overlooked, but when I came to some pics from the Capitol building in Maine, I noticed that there was a memorial on the wall to women who served throughout our history.

These following pics are taken from a larger memorial on the wall and they are not identified specifically but they demonstrate the service of women.

When I was in 'Nam, women service members were few and far between. I did see a few when I was in the hospital and a few (perhaps the same ones,) when I could get to a fairly secure beach area half an hour away from our base. They were all Officers, of course, so any interaction was extremely limited.

But, women served in some way or another in all of our entanglements. I have written before about the fact that my former mother in law was a Women's Army Service Pilot during WWII and these pics just remind us that we were not alone.

And, of course one of our own from 'Nam from a statue in Bangor.

Women will continue to serve (as they always have) and we will continue to benefit from their courage, commitment, and dedication to duty.

Next time, on the 20th, I will begin my tradition of posting some pics of "other things" as I always do during the holiday season, so check back on the 20th, as always at 9:00am., to see what I have found. I do this each year to take a break from writing about our lost brothers and sisters and to demonstrate that I am not just a one-note photographer. I do take photos of "other things!"

To see additional memorials from Maine, 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!

California XXXIII

Santa Paula is about an hour north and a bit west of Los Angeles and I visited when my wife had other business in the area.

 

The memorial here is a multi-war and remembers the local heroes who have fought and sometimes given their all for our country.

I have never seen a memorial like this one and as I have said on previous occasions that I enjoy seeing those that are not quite the usual.

Adorned with a world map ans numerous plaques it speaks to a number of involvements.

There are no markings on the giant map and internet searches have turned up nothing as to when it was erected or for that matter any information at all.

The other side is quite interesting as it features maps of both Vietnam (left) and Korea along with service emblems. The plaque below is dedicated to the man who championed this memorial.

These next plaques are selected from the several across the front of the memorial.

This plaque honors all who have met the challenge.

These two,of course, need no explanation.

The population of Santa Paula in 1968 was roughly 15,000 people and somehow 11 lost seems like a lot to me. 

RIP brothers. 

Next time, on the 5th, I am tying to find something from Colorado, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am and see what I found.

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

New Jersey XVIII

During one of my several jaunts into New Jersey I came across the memorial.

Located at a Municipal Center it is home to several memorials honoring a great number of heroes.

Vietnam and the areas local heroes are prominently remembered and honored here.

As I started to write about it and do some research I kept finding it listed as being in various locations. I was a bit baffled, but plugged on.

It has, obviously, been built up over time as more and more remembrances were added.

Eventually, I found the following explanation.

"Cedarbrook (sic) is a small, unincorporated town within Camden County. So, why is this memorial located here? This confusing but interesting memorial was slowly assembled at this municipal building, on Route 73 South in Winslow Township. Winslow is huge, and eventually sucked up some of the communities which have memorials here like of Sicklerville, Tansboro, Elm, Winslow, and Cedar Brook. Monuments that had been erected in some of the communities were relocated to this spot, and new monuments were also raised."

So, for next time, on the 26th, please join me as we revisit New Mexico. As always we'll be there at 9:00am.

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

Massachusetts XVII

We have visited Middleboro before, but in looking through some files I saw some additional pics that I hope you you might find interesting.

There are two Blue Spruce trees planted here, one for a WWI soldier and one for a Vietnam brother. His name was Wayne Caron and he was wounded three times while trying to save other soldiers, before he was finally killed.  They are both Meal of Honor recipients and each has a tree dedicated to him.

Dedication plaque for Corpsman Caron.

A little beyond the spruce is this marker for era vets. The following pic is a bit unusual as it calls itself an "Era" memorial but lists the names and sites where several were lost.

Detail from above, note the names and locations.

 

 

 

Next time, on the 24th, we will revisit New Jersey, so join me there at 9:00am.

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

Florida VIII

Tampa was the debarkation point for Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders and, today, it is the home of a beautiful Vietnam Memorial, as well.

Located in Hillsborough County, as you enter the park you are greeted by these flags in the circle that creates parking.

Directly across from the flags you find a Huey and a Cobra watching over the names of the 156 who are, forever, honored here.

The main memorial lists those lost. One site I read reported that they were all officers, but this is not so.

On the reverse of the memorial are scenes from the war, a Vietnam Service medal and a POW/MIA flag.

The site was dedicated on November 11th, 2011 and is located on the east side of Tampa on U.S. 301 and the Tampa bypass canal, just south of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

There are several more pictures that I will share in the next posting, so join me then, on June 3rd, at 8:00am.

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

Illinois XI

Just about 150 miles south of Chicago lies Tilton, Illinois. Seemingly a small town by any measure I was, once again, impressed by what small towns choose to do for their own. In a cluster of three along the main street stand memorials to WWI, Korea, and Vietnam. These are in addition to a larger WWII memorial elsewhere in the town.

This memorial, like some others, is dedicated to all who served from Tilton. I always like to see this but realize that it is not always possible, especially in area where thousands and thousands served, to inscribe every name upon a wall. I still like it.

 

 

One young man from Tilton, Perry Dickens was Killed in Action. His name is highlighted with a star upon the memorial!

Next time, join me in Terra Haute, Indiana at 9:00am on the 17th of October.

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

Massachusetts II

I was planning to write about the memorial in Springfield, Ma, but I  made a new contact in Springfield, today, who has promised to send me additional material on the site. So, until that arrives, I will write, instead, about a memorial in West Springfield, just minutes away. Located in the Town  Commons area, this and other memorials were added in 2008. It stands nearby a 9-11 memorial dedicated to all but especially to a local resident who died on that fateful day.

The Vietnam memorial is dedicated to all who served and commemorates the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. There are five names listed upon the monument and another is honored on a separate stone laid at the base of the original, obviously at a later date.

The names are a little difficult to read due to the glare. They are:

Joel H. Chapin

Richard N. Gauthier

Daniel L. Grover

Raymond G. Masse

Alan L. Matte

And upon the single stone:

Henry H. Herrin Jr.

Next time, on the 22nd, join me to visit a school in Connecticut that pays tribute to those who were lost, from Connecticut and all states, on its walls. As always, at 9:00am

Colorado XII

As one approaches this site in Longmont, all that is visible are the two flags, alone on a pole. As you enter the are and begin to follow the path you discover a unique memorial. It is not the flags or the markers but the whole Park. It is called the Jim Hamm Nature Area and is dedicated to Jim Hamm and all the others from the area, seven in total.

 

The land was donated by the Hamm family in memory of their son who went missing in march of 1968. This strikes a chord in me as I was in country at this time.

 

The plaque has become difficult to read but it welcomes all to enjoy the nature area and dedicated it to all from the St. Vrain Valley who served in Vietnam.

Originally the park was smaller but as been consistently improved and upgraded and as recently as 2011 an additional name, initially omitted, was added through the efforts of some local vets and a private donation. Now all were lost are given their due!

This new plaque includes the name of the recently added soldier: Larry George Trevarton

The lake is 17 acres and is periodically drained to improve its ability to thrive and maintain sufficient depth for the enjoyment of the people of Longmont. It was completely drained as recently as November of 2012. I read a report that it was open for business by June of 2013. An interesting aside is that the mud removed by the dredging is being used to add a berm in the park on which trees will be planted.

Jim Hamm was a lover of nature and explored this area extensively as a child. I cannot help but think that he would be overjoyed to see this area preserved, improved, and dedicated to his lost brothers from the St. Vrain Valley.

The Jim Hamm Nature Area is located at 1701 E. County Line Rd, near the intersection with E. 17th Avenue.

Next time, join me in Springfield, Mass. See you at 9:00am on the 17th of September.



To see other posts from Colorado, or any other state, just click on the state name to the left.

California IX

In front of the Kern County Court House, in Bakersfield, is a memorial to the more than 14,000 from the area who served and the 143 who paid the ultimate price.

Located on the corner of Chester and Truxtun Avenues it invokes flight and is, in fact, called, "Wind beneath my wings" I cannot recall any other memorials with its own name! There are 138 listed on the front of the memorial and then the additional 8 were added to the reverse.

Reverse of memorial

These eight were added at a later time

Next time, on the 12th, we visit Longmont, Colorado for a slightly unusual memorial. Join me, as always, at 9:00am.

To see all posts from California, or any other state, click on the states name on the left side of this page.

Arizona IV

 On one of many trips to Arizona, I was able to visit this memorial in Gilbert. It honors many from various wars but Vietnam is well represented. In addition to this memorial there is also a 9-11 memorial consisting of walls with names and an 8ft. piece of the World Trade Center.

 

Names are listed in two places here. There is a group on the central monument and also a group on the nearby, freestanding "Wall" No one at the museum could explain this to me and I have recently been in touch with the VFW that placed it. I am awaiting additional information from them and I will update here if I learn anything new.

 Individual tributes are placed at eh base and around the plaza area.

This memorial is located on the corner of S. Gilbert Rd and W. Elliot Rd on the grounds of the Gilbert Historical Museum.

Next time, on the 7th, join me in Bakersfield, California to honor a really nice memorial. As always, at 9:00am!


To see all posts from Arizona, or any other state, click on the states name on the left side of this page.