Ireland update

Irish Shield

Before we go to Utah, new information has come my way and I think many will find it interesting.

I have written, previously, about the Irish citizens who fought beside us, and died, in Vietnam. The number at the time it was first discovered to be true was 16 and their families were honored when the Traveling Wall visited Ireland. Since then the number has changed; to 19, then 22 and now 29. Not all of these were with U.S. Forces, some were Air America, the Canadian Military, the Australians, and AID. A total of 2500 Irish citizens participated in our efforts to aid the Vietnamese people.

There is a memorial, which I have posted elsewhere on this site, in Kilarney, at Adair Manor. This memorial, however, is not specifically to Irish Vietnam Veterans. All of that is about to change!

A new memorial honoring the 29 Irish citizens lost in the war has been approved to be built in Ennis, in County Clare. This is especially interesting and meaningful to me as my ancestors are from County Clare.

Currently in the design and fund raising stage, the memorial is a ways off and today I spoke with one of the organizers and they are hoping for 2014 completion and dedication.

If you are interested in learning more about this wonderful project, please go here;

 http://www.theirishvietnamveteransmemorialproject.org/index.html

On these pages you will see a tab called The 29 and if you click an individual name a short bio will appear.


If you would like to read more about the existing memorial at Adair, click on Colorado, at the left of this page. When it opens scroll back to the second or third post from Colorado to read more about it.

I encourage anyone who is interested to support this project, as I have, by sending a check to

http://www.ivnvmp.org

OR To;    The Irish Vietnam Veterans Memorial Project
                P.O. box 90592
                Alexandria, Virginia 22309

We will go to Utah, as previously promised, on the 16th at 9:00am.

UPDATE  Just today I got an email from Declan Hughes who founded Irish Veterans. He and his organization feel that this project is untimely, unnecessary and wrongly uses information taken from their site. I currently have no opinion about this as I do not yet know enough to decide. You may want to check out Irish Veterans at, Irishveteransmemorialproject.com for more information about this issue.

Nebraska III

I wanted to go to Kearney because I so fondly remember my former Father-in-Law talking about growing up on a farm there. I still laugh that he will not eat sausage, to this day, so far as I know, because he had to make it as a kid. He used to say "I know what goes in it!"

So, I was pleased to learn that Kearney has a Vietnam Memorial. It is across the street from the High School and I wonder if that was chance or, perhaps, intentional. The old always send the young to die.

Located in Apollo Park, along with a Korean War Memorial, it honors four young men from the area who were lost in 'Nam. Interestingly, the site in Lincoln claims 405 lost from Nebraska, but several sites, including the Virtual Wall site, still claim and list 395, so it is possible that they may be more from Kearney. There are no names listed here and the site specifically pays tribute not only to the lost but to all who served.

I read an article that said that the Traveling Wall visited Kearney in 2011, 25 years after its first visit. 18,000 people visited this time and one was quoted as saying he hopes it doesn't take "another 25 years..." before it returns. I wonder who will be interested 25 years from now? Most, if not all of us will be gone by then and whom will tell our story then? I hope that this site will add a little to the knowledge that accumulated about the war, those who fought it and most importantly those remembered and honored by these sites.

This is one of those rare sites that actually has an address and it can be found at 3300 6th street, Kearney.

Next time, a special Memorial Day posting. So, as always, join me at 9:00am on the 27th of May. Nebraska will continue, in Omaha, on June1st following this special remembrance.

Missouri VI

Carthage lies in southwest Missouri not too very far from Joplin. This memorial is in Central Park and I have read that some consider it "THE" Missouri Vietnam memorial. As I have written previously, folks in St. Peter's say the same thing. It doesn't really matter to me as both list all of the brave souls from the state that gave all for the Vietnamese and their efforts for freedom. Heroes all!

Sitting on the corner of Maple and Chestnut Streets, this memorial commemorates not only the heroes from Missouri but also the fact that the Traveling Wall visited this exact spot. I am always very pleased when I see that a visit by the Traveling Wall has inspired a town to build a permanent tribute. As noted before I have seen this a number of times but it may not be too well known that there are several organizations that sponsor Walls the visit around the country. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, who built the Wall in D.C., and Dignity Memorials are just two of these.

It was raining the day I was there and the glare given off by the rain often makes one think of the tears that were shed for these brave people, their families, for Vietnam. Standing in these sacred places, in the rain, also causes me to recall the monsoons in 'Nam. Not that these storms measure up in any way, but just the rain in general. It is funny what takes you back!

       

This poem by Major O'Donnell, KIA in 'Nam, is frequently found at these sites. It encompasses, I think, a lesson we may have finally learned. Regardless of ones politics or feelings about any particular war, we must never (again) blame the soldier who was sent to that war. When I returned I got some of the stuff we have all heard about on my third day back in the U.S. Now, when I see returning soldiers applauded in airports, etc, I think we have learned. The "silver lining" to Vietnam may just be that we will never treat a vet with such disrespect again! I least I hope this is true.

Maine IV

Not too very far from where I was staying in Freeport is Lewiston. The woman who worked at the reception desk of our hotel is from Lewiston and told me about the site that was built after the traveling Wall visited the town. The site which is dedicated to all vets and all wars is very beautiful. Each of the monuments commemorates a different American involvement. A river with falls as a backdrop makes for a very dramatic setting.

The marker for the traveling Wall is quite small but is made more powerful by the fact that a capsule containing items of tribute brought to the spot by visitors is buried beneath it.