A Vietnam memorial few know about…
It’s hidden away in a mountain meadow in Colorado, visited by few. It covers from 1945 to the end of the Vietnam war in 1975.
You can go HERE and flip through the pictures to get to the story behind it.
May they all Rest In Peace.
h/t JP
Love that area. I find it surreal. The story is equally mysterious and very telling of someone who wanted to give tribute to those who sacrificed.
And the generous man behind the mystery…http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/25/inspiration-nation-soldierstone/14589759/
It could not be in a more beautiful place. And the peace and solitude is befitting the respect they deserve. I like that the vets leave the tokes of shells and quarters, too.
I’ve seen the video before, and feel very hopeful that the US Bureau of Land Management won’t tear it down…but know their reputation and their track record.
It is on US Forest Service land. They have a different mindset. Of course, that could change.
USFS – Agriculture Department
BLM – Interior Department
Dang that dust…
I started hearing the song from “we were soldiers once” playing in my head while looking at the pictures. Gave me chills…and tears.
A moving story.
Fargo- Agreed, and thanks for the link!
CP- Yep!
LL/WSF- Whomever is in charge, I hope they leave it as is!
LCB- It does kinda have that effect.
CA73- Yes sir, it is.
+1 LCB
Gentlemen, with all due respect to you and for this memorial, after viewing this my question is “Why did all these people die in this land?” For freedom? For their own, for someone else’s over the decades? I don’t think so. They were doing the bidding of others who gave not one hoot about them. Their bravery, courage, honor, and sacrifice recognized, what I always want to know is “why?” Maybe our soldiers need to ask the same question. Patriotism is more than obeying orders of politicians who don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground and to whom the soldier is nothing but a tool they find expendable.
Aguila,
Were the soldiers that died at Gallipoli any less patriotic than the soldiers that died in France to stop German aggression during WW1.
My point being, as much as I don’t like LBJ, I really don’t think he thought the soldiers were expendable, just as Churchill, who came up with the idea for the Dardanelle campaign, didn’t think that soldiers were “expendable”.
Churchill’s idea was good, but the execution of the plan was criminally bad. LBJ’s “plan” for Vietnam was HORRIBLE…but he was relying on the advice of McNamara’s and Westmoreland, just as all presidents rely on the advice of their cabinet and the military. Of all people, Westmoreland should have known better! But the Army’s top levels of command had already become political at this point and Westmoreland was just playing politics. But even HE didn’t think his troops were “expendable”!
Many of the Soldiers, Airmen and Marines in Southeast Asia during the 60’s and 70’s didn’t have a choice, being drafted. Asking “why” wouldn’t have done them much good. But with today’s military, each and every one of its members has already asked, “Why?” And they’ve chosen to serve.
Oh…and another point. If you’d have looked closely at the pictures you would have seen some of the monuments were for soldiers that lived IN Vietnam. And yes, they WERE fighting for freedom!!!
Sir, I was commenting on the theme of the memorial which was about Vietnam. While we could debate the question of “Why” for other military campaigns, I was speaking of what I consider the “waste” of our troops, their blood, their sacrifice for what was really imperialism for big business interests … not freedom which is the ten second sound bite everyone so conveniently throws around. My father fought in Vietnam with the First Air Cav – An Khe ’66-’67 and I have studied a bit of the history. While not an expert, I do read alot and feel that since WWII, origins of which are also very questionable, was the last war to be fought with the goal of winning. Each time the US military has won only to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by politicians. This is especially true in Vietnam when the Congress declined to continue funding the Rep. S. Vietnam. That is what I am talking about and that is the crux of why we still have so many unresolved issues around the world today. We haven’t finished anything and much of the sacrifice has been, while honorable in a personal sense for the warriors, wasted.
Aguila,
I respect your opinion, and even agree with you on a lot of what you’ve said. But this monument was funded and built by a veteran for his fellow vets of Vietnam. This wasn’t built as a monument to the Vietnam war…it was built by one soldier as a…a…love letter, if you will, to his fellow brothers-in-arms from 16 nations and tribes. Frankly, I just don’t think this was the place to bring up the arguments you did; was a discussion for another place and time…
LCB
Aguila/LCB- Agreed, enough. This is a memorial NOT a discussion on the right or wrong of the war. That can be had in another time and place. Thank you both for keeping it civil. But enough.
Yes sir. My apologies. (And I’m not being snippy…you deserve the “sir”).
LCB- None needed. Y’all kept it polite. Thank you!