Across the United States veterans, patriots and their families have constructed Vietnam Veteran Memorials to honor those who never made it home from the Vietnam War.
Ronny Ymbras and his son Matthew researched hundreds of these memorials and chose one memorial from each state to profile and present in their self-published book Fallen Never Forgotten: Vietnam Memorials in the USA.
In this episode of Veterans Live Show Ronny will discuss five Vietnam Veteran Memorials featured in his book that had especially unique features…
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Good evening Vietnam!
Live from LZ Bunker this is the Veterans Live Show. I’m your host Ronny Ymbras. I served with…..
Tonight I will be discussing five Vietnam veteran memorials in the United States that had some especially unique features.
Across the United States veterans, patriots and their families have raised funds and constructed Vietnam Veteran Memorials to honor those who never made it home from the Vietnam War.
My son Matthew and I researched hundreds of these memorials and chose one memorial from each state to profile and present in our self-published book Fallen Never Forgotten: Vietnam Memorials in the USA.
So tonight I will present to you five Vietnam Veteran Memorials featured in Fallen Never Forgotten, that had some very unique features.
And don’t forget if you would like to purchase a copy of Fallen Never Forgotten just visit Fallen Never Forgotten dot com…
The Veterans Live Show is shipping out to Washington DC for Memorial day weekend.
We will be making a number of videos and doing live interviews in various locations around our nation’s capital, so here is a list of our Scheduled Live Stream videos…
Please remember the following time are all Eastern Standard Time…
SATURDAY MAY 29th we will begin the weekend at…
Arlington National Cemetery at 1pm
101st Airborne Wreath Laying Ceremony – Saturday the 29th at 3pm
and we will finish the day at the…
USMC Memorial – Saturday the 29th at 7:30pm
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SUNDAY MAY 30th we will kick off our day with the
Rolling to Remember Motorcycle parade.
We are going to try to set up near the Saluting Marine, on the corner of Henry Bacon Drive and Constitution
Avenue…
Rolling to Remember begins Sunday May 30th at 12pm
US Navy Memorial – Sunday – May 30th at 1:30pm
USAF Memorial – Sunday May 30th at 3pm
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MONDAY, MAY 31st… MEMORIAL DAY 2021 we will be at the National Mall all day starting at the…
WW2 Memorial – Monday, May 31st at 9am
Korean War Memorial – Monday, May 31st at 10am
Vietnam Women’s Memorial – Monday, May May 31st at 11am
Three Servicemen Statue which is right near The Wall – Monday, May May 31st at 12pm EST
and Finally we will be live streaming the Memorial Day Observance at The Wall – May 31st at 1pm EST
This year’s keynote speaker is Karl Marlantes.
Karl Marlantes is a Vietnam veteran who served with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines as well as an author of three books including Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War.
Karl is also a Rhodes Scholar and earned the Navy Cross, a Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals for valor, two Purple Hearts, and 10 Air Medals.
This should be a special day of remembrance for all, we will see you there…
This date in the Vietnam War… May 27th 1969
Operation Pipestone Canyon (my childhood friend Paul Blose actually took part in this operation)… Ok, Operation Pipestone Canyon began when the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines began sweeps in the Dodge City/Go Noi areas southwest of Da Nang. It terminated at the end of June with 610 enemy killed in action at a cost of 34 Marines killed.
The Number one song on May 26th 1969 was… Get Back by The Beatles with Billy Preston
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This date in the Vietnam War… May 26th 1971
In Cambodia, an estimated 1,000 North Vietnamese captured the strategic rubber plantation town of Snoul, driving out 2,000 South Vietnamese as U.S. air strikes supported the Allied forces.
The Number one song on May 26th 1971 was… Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones
With Memorial day coming up we decided to take you all on a trip around the country to visit five of the more unique Vietnam veteran memorials that were included in our book Fallen Never Forgotten Vietnam Memorials in the USA.
My son Matthew and I researched hundreds of Vietnam Veteran Memorials throughout the country and ended up selecting one memorial from each state. Some of them were notable state memorials and others were much lesser known memorials.
So now we will present to you photos and excerpts from our book Fallen Never Forgotten.
So here we go…
These are five unique Vietnam veteran memorials featured in the book Fallen Never Forgotten…
Ohio Veterans Memorial Park, Clinton Ohio
The Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park was created to help everyone remember that there are men and women who sacrifice themselves for the freedom of their country.
The park itself was funded by donations from individuals, businesses, civic groups, houses of worship, and other organizations who were looking to thank the local veterans.
The park’s Vietnam memorial was dedicated in 2009 following the dream of Ohio resident Dan Delarosa who was looking for a way to honor his brother who died during his tour in Vietnam.
The main portion of the Vietnam memorial is the memorial wall. It is a 125-foot long black granite wall that features the names of the over 3,000 Ohio service members who lost their lives in the war. There is also an inscription on the wall that says “Lest We Forget.”
Besides that the memorial is constantly evolving and has other components including a mounted helicopter and a deuce and a half military truck. There are plans to add a tank to the memorial, too.
There is also a serene reflection pond dedicated to the prisoners of war and missing in action service members. This scene is made complete by a freestanding field cross.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park, Angel Fire, New Mexico
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, is the only state park in the country that is completely dedicated to the Vietnam veterans.
The on-site chapel and visitor’s center offers educational resources as well as space for people to reflect on the sacrifice and heal through remembrance.
This memorial came about due to the efforts of Victor and Jeanne Westphall. The two lost their son, Marine First Lieutenant David Westphall in May 1968.
Since its dedication in 1971, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park has been supported by the David Westphall Veterans Foundation. In 2005, the park became an official state park
The park has multiple features including a chapel. There is also a visitor center that boasts a media room where an 86-minute documentary on Vietnam is shown.
There is also a Huey helicopter, a statue named “Dear Mom and Dad” as well as a model of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial that was dedicated in 1993 in the Washington Mall in Washington D.C.
Visitors also have access to the cemetery in the park, a water garden, and a memorial walkway.
New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel, New Jersey
The New Jersey Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial is not only a memorial, it’s also a museum that attracts visitors from all walks of life. The museum holds exhibits coinciding with the memorial, including timelines of events that happened in both the US and Vietnam during the years of the Vietnam War and an exhibit of letters and photos sent home by veterans during the conflict.
The memorial is conveniently located on the grounds of the PNC Bank Arts Center (formerly known as the Garden State Arts Center). It was designed by a refugee from South Vietnam named Hien Nguyen.
The memorial itself is expansive (it takes up 200 feet in diameter) and consists of different components.
Surrounding the area is a granite wall made up of 366 panels in order to symbolize each day of the year. The wall features the names of local service members who passed on each individual day. In the middle of the open-air pavilion are statues honoring the veterans including the nurses of the Vietnam War.
The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Frankfort, Kentucky
The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial was made by Helm Roberts who was not only an architect but was also a veteran. The money needed for the project was raised through the Memorial Foundation known as Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The Vietnam War memorial is made of 327 cut granite panels from a quarry in Georgia that weigh over 215 tons. The names featured on the stones were etched using the same lettering that appears on grave markers in Arlington National Cemetery.
This memorial is set up to resemble a sundial and features the names of the 1,104 Kentucky citizens who passed in the Vietnam War.
The names were placed in a way so the sundial’s shadow highlights the veteran’s name on the anniversary of their death.Thus, each individual is honored with a personal tribute.
In addition to this, the sundial points to the inscription “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” at exactly 11:11 a.m. on November 11 each year.
and the fifth Vietnam veterans Memorial we will talk about tonight is…
Veterans Memorial Park in Munster, Indiana
Munster, Indiana’s Veterans Park is six and a half acres in size and features multiple monuments and sculptures representing the multiple wars and conflicts that have happened across the 20th Century.
It was created in order to remember all of the service members who participated in the wars, including the Vietnam War. The committee who put the park and memorials together also wanted to educate the visitors about the downsides of war.
This is done as a way to try and stop the cycle of war and make room for peace.
The Vietnam Memorial is made up of multiple components and is made in a way to recreate the Vietnam War from the ground up.
The artists recreated the rice paddies of Southeast Asia and set up their monuments within the recreation to make everything look very realistic.
There are seven monuments set up throughout the Vietnam Memorial site consisting of a retired Huey helicopter sitting in a rice paddy,
a map of Vietnam etched into granite with images of the war,
three sculptures of M-16s with flowers sticking out of their barrels positioned on a stack of bricks,
a wall sculpture depicting a nurse with a wounded soldier,
a recreation of a Buddhist temple in ruins as you walk behind the temple you will encounter two bronze statues,
one statue is a depiction of a soldier creeping around the corner with his m-79 in hand while the other, more somber statue, is that of a fallen combat soldier who is lying face down on red stones.
