Council Bluffs Veterans Plaza at Bayliss Park

 On the east side of Bayliss Park is the veterans memorial.

Santa Clara Central Park Veterans Memorial

 A nice tribute to veterans and each branch of service is found in Central Park.  

Veterans Memorial Highway

 Veterans are honored on highway 95 in Nevada south of Las Vegas and headed to Needles.  The signs are just before reaching Searchlight.  The signs have the Mohave Desert as a background.

Health As I See It: Military Veterans: 22 Suicides a Day

When I was in Port Orchard, Washington, a grabbed a copy of the paper Northwest Navy Life at the restaurant we visited.  In its pages it had an article about people doing 22 pushups on the 22nd of the month at the local Navy hospital, to bring awareness to the 22 veterans who are committing suicide every day.  The article sparked awareness in my brain.  It also mentioned that on a recent survey fourteen percent of veterans reports having suicidal thoughts.  I was unclear if this was at any given time, or over the past few months or what.  However, still the truth is that veterans are committing suicide at an alarming rate.  The article also points out that too many suicides take place among active duty personnel as well.
The article further gives a task for those who may know someone who is depressed.  The call it ACTs of Kindness.  Using the acronym ACT Ask - someone if they are thinking of suicide.  Care - listen, offer hope, and not be judgmental.  Treat - don't leave a suicidal person alone and get assistance.  Other resources include, Nation Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK.  The Navy also offers this website for ideas.

Memorial Day 2016: Dixie and Sammy Davis Fireside

Sammy and Dixie are on the right (this is not from last night.)

I am having difficulty writing this blog, because there is no way sometimes to express things that touch the heart.  I had the privilege to hear the story of Sammy Davis and his wife.  They were both widowed before finding each other.  Sammy is a Medal of Honor winner.  The story presented in Forrest Gump of rescuing your buddies was basically his story.  The President Johnson award ceremony was his story, and the scene presented was Tom Hanks face on his body.  The words from President Johnson in the movie Forrest Gump were the words the president said about Sammie Davis when he was presented the Medal of Honor.  He was in the artillery, not the infantry, and he was wounded more severely than Forrest Gump.  He also had to cross a river to get to his friends who were wounded.
They started the evening showing the You Tube video, "Sammy Davis, Medal of Honor, Vietnam."  There are a couple of other movies on You Tube: 

Buzzed Into American Hero Sgt. Sammy L. Davis at Heritage Hill
Sammy L. Davis

Dixie was the first speaker, and told of her history, losing her husband, and then making a connection with Sammy Davis.  They were friends previous to their spouses both dying from cancer.  She also tells the story of Sammy's conversion to the gospel, and it was very touching.  They are a cute couple and it was fun to observe their interaction.
Sammy then told the story of his earning the Medal of Honor in much more depth.  He basically says he didn't feel like a hero.  "I was just doing my job."  The story was very touching, but also very personal.  After saving his three buddies, Davis thought his work was done, but things happened to let him know he had more work to do.  Only after this did he have enough energy to get to the shore of the river and get out of the water.
He also told the story of learning to play the harmonica during the war, and always playing the song "Shenandoah" for his Sergeant.  He played this for us.  It was very moving.
I was emotionally touched by this veteran.  He is still out there making himself available for other veterans, lifting them up and being a listening voice.  He is also still effected by things that happened so many years ago.  He indicated he only sleeps a couple hours at a time, gets up and makes sure everything is OK before going back to bed.

San Jose Viet Nam Veteran's Memorial

This is right by where I got off the bus the other day on my way to catch the train.  It is by the visitor's center just east of the hockey arena.  It lists all the soldiers from San Jose who passed away in the Viet Nam War.

Life in Manteca 121: Memorial Day: Vietnam Wall Replica

The main day for the Memorial Day celebration in manteca is tomorrow.  However the wall has been up for several days and I decided to visit.  I found two elders and President Brown, guiding people, instructing them on how to find names of loved ones that might be on the wall.  58,000 American service men lost their lives in Viet Nam.  That is quite a number.  I saw in the paper that 20 years ago the "Wall" was part of Memorial Day exhibit.  To say the least I was impressed.  The crosses are there as well as other Memorial Day exhibits.  The stage is on the opposite side this year.  Very impressive.  I recommend you go tomorrow.

Tony trying a tree

Skylar

If you come by I will be at the family history table so look me up.  Billy

Life in Manteca 99: Memorial Day 2014

Memorial Day 2014, Woodward Park, Manteca

Early morning clean-up at Woodward Park.  Note, we no longer wear the yellow vests, but just do services.  As a family we got a pretty good trash bag full.  They served donuts and drinks, and had the sticker I scanned at the top for those who wanted one to take.  This is Tony's now that I have scanned it.  Miranda and Tony went to the fireworks show last night.  Randi has a movie to post.