Well what a busy and memorable Memorial Day weekend I have had! I have been on a road trip to the Midwest and have seen some wonderful sights and memorials. The weather was good although a little humid and since it was Memorial Day Weekend most of the sites that I visited were decorated for the occasion -- from the National Cemeteries to the small town memorials. So I have truly taken the time to remember all those who have served. And for all of my family and friends who have served in the armed forces -- THANK YOU! Please know that part of what drives me to develop this project is to help us learn how we and other nations remember those who have given so much for their country.
My journey took me on many, many miles, from interstates to scenic routes (over 1400 miles) - big cities and very small towns and some surprises along the way. I will give you a brief feel for some of what I experienced.
I began my foray at the Springfield, Missouri National Cemetery and it was lovely. The cemetery is unique among the national cemeteries in that there is a wall that separates Union and Confederate burial sites. Originally there were two separate cemeteries that were combined, but they kept the wall in place as a reminder. They also have Buffalo Soldiers (African American soldiers from the 1800s) who are also buried here but whose headstones do not exactly align in their rows; this was done deliberately because at the time of the burial, this was a form of segregation. I did find it ironic that the Confederate headstones were also decorated wih the US flag. Notice the wall in the background of the picture.
I then had a lovely scenic drive through beautiful forestland to the Minerals Area College in Park Hills, Missouri. On the campus they have placed a wonderful memorial to a local boy who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II for his actions on Iwo Jima. The memorial includes the entire text of his citation. This unique statue sits among a beautiful and serene college campus.I next had the opportunity to visit the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St Louis and I must say this is one of the most beautiful national cemeteries outside of Arlington. The many many rows of headstones and memorials sit overlooking the Mississippi River and the stately Jefferson Barracks Historic Site. There are many unique memorials here and I spent some time working my way through all that it offered.
This cemetery includes a memorial to the women who served at sea as well as the former Vietnam War Unknown Soldier who had been buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington before DNA proved it was Lieutenant Michael Blassie. The cemetery also has a Medal of Honor recipient from the Indian Wars who fought on the Texas frontier, as well as 2 German and 4 Italian World War II POWs who died in the US and whose remains were not returned. And finally the American POWs who were held in Hiroshima Japan in 1945 are buried here as a group. 
I then drove across to Decatur and Danville, Illinois to photograph some smaller local memorials. In Decatur I had a little bit of hunt as the road into the cemetery was under construction and it was blocked to all but local traffic; needless to say I just drove on down the road and into small but pretty cemetery. In Danville I was not sure I had a good location of the memorials for which I was searching but as I turned the corner BINGO! I knew I had reached my destination -- it was just too obvious with all of the flags. Each flag had a nametag adhered with individual names -- the same ones that were on the Korean, Vietnam and World War II memorials. From Danville I headed more southerly toward the college town of Bloomington, Indiana. I was now on more backroads and enjoyed the small towns. BUT, I was astonished as I was simply passing through the small town of Spencer as I turned on the state highway around the Putnam County Courthouse and there in front of my was a World War II German Buzz Bomb (V2 rocket)!!!! Okay I had to stop for this! I immediately pulled over on the town square (much to the chagrin of some of the local traffic). I pulled out my camera and headed over to try and discover what on earth this unique artifact was doing in the middle of small-town Indiana. The V2 is the Putnam County War Memorial honoring all from the county who served in World War II and is one of only 2 buzz bombs in the US (the other is at the Smithsonian). No reason was given for choosing an enemy weapon to honor American military personnel -- a little quirky I think but certainly eye-catching! LOL So this will be a great and unique entry in my database.
After a brief stop in Bloomington, I headed south toward my stop for the evening in Jasper. I would be driving through the unique resort at French Lick (home of Larry Bird); the resort has two turn-of-the-century resort hotels that were built near a mineral spring, AND more importantly for me, 2 golf courses including a famous Donald Ross course built in 1917. I would be playing this course early the next morning; the courses will host the 2010 PGA Championship in a month. The town is very quaint and the valley in which it is located is quite beautiful, so my drive was very pleasant and scenic. The next morning I drove through the morning mist and played a fun round of golf before heading back on the memorial trail.
I drove a gorgeous backwoods scenic route to Evansville, Indiana where I was pleasantly surprised by their memorial park along the riverbanks. Again the memorials were decked out for the holiday. But I must say what I had really come to Evansville to see was a memorial that is really somewhat unique so far- a Persian
Gulf War memorial. Few communities have yet included this memorial (I inquired at some places such as
Springfield, etc., but not much interest it seems and I find that sad -- this has now become the "forgotten war" as Korean memorials such as this lovely one in 
Evansville have sprouted across the country. The Persian Gulf war if honored is often just a small plaque attached to previous memorials. The Evansville memorial, although separated by several miles from the memorial park where the other wars are commemorated, has 2 life-size statues in combat gear and one of these is a female. The first female military personnel in combat gear I have seen or heard about in the US; usually they are nurses or nuns. These statues show real life-like qualities including individual strands of hair and seem to be by the same artists who created the Korean War memorial statues as well.
After a fun drive across small backroads and a surprise toll bridge across the Ohio River, my last two spots were located in small southern Illinois towns and had a very different feel, in fact the last one was a REAL surprise. West Frankfort has a poignant World War I statue that shows the pain and sorrow of the loss of so many young men in that conflict. This statue is part of a larger display at an old railroad depot that is now the War Depot Museum. Again it was decorated
with flags and was located on the main street of town. [I now have a knack for finding the small town memorials.]
with flags and was located on the main street of town. [I now have a knack for finding the small town memorials.]
Now the last memorial was just five miles down the road in Johnston City and while I had a short description of the memorial which made it clear that this would be different, I was still surprised by what I pulled up to find. This small memorial statue commemorating those from the area who served in World War II is of a soldier lying prone and the words "lest we forget." The site is eye-catching and unusual because most WWII memorials in the US are not so somber. So my interest and curiousity is piqued by why such a memorial would be found in a small town in the heartland. My curiousity was further piqued by an additional set of inscribed granite markers listing the names of all those lost in the wars in WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam as well as quotes; the last inscription though contained the somewhat surprising statement: "....to honor those who served because they believed that their country asked them to do what was right...." -- this is not a completely positive or supportive statement! The small memorial which was again on main street was very poignant and moving. It was also decorated with flags and crosses with the names of those who had been lost. 
From this point I began my trek home and had to dodge some developing thunderstorms. In late spring-early summer, thunderstorms can develop suddenly across the area in which I was driving so I had to change my route and plans a few times but I managed to mostly avoid the heavy rain. This was a short test trip for the longer trips I have planned later in the summer and I had fun and observed so much. I noted some unusual and interesting items -- I saw few trains along the route because in the eastern US roads were built before the trains and so do not always follow the same routes unlike in the west where railroads often came first; Missouri has a funny dichotomy in radio stations -- either religious stations or NPR stations with a few country music stations thrown in. I never seemed to be out of NPR range across much of the area in which I travelled - unlike what I find in Texas. Indiana has some beautiful county courthouses, gas was about 10 cents cheaper in Missouri, and there are almost no Sonics in Illinois or Indiana!
I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend and that you remembered to thank those who have served :)
