War memorials consist of civic memorials, war cemeteries, larger national monuments, private memorials and a variety of practical designs such as parks, dedicated to remembering those involved in a conflict. Sometimes these memorials work, but other times they do not. Simply put, Camp Logan does not memorialize World War I or the fallen troops. Aside from a historical marker located on the edge of the massive Memorial Park, there are few physical remains of the camp hidden by the wooded landscape and most visitors do not know of the camp’s existence in the first place. Also, the camp played a role in some of the darkest moments in Houston history that most would rather leave forgotten. These things, especially when combined, further take away the little bit of presence that Camp Logan has in public remembrance.
When the United States declared war against Germany in April of 1917, two military installations were built in Harris County: Camp Logan and Ellington Field (Haynes). The camp was located a mile west of what were then the Houston outskirts. Construction of Camp Logan, named after Civil War and Mexican War veteran and U.S. Senator from Illinois General John A. Logan, started on July 24, 1917 on orders from the War Department to meet the increasing demand for trained men to fight in World War I (Aulbach). Once completed, the 33rd Division, which was made up of the Illinois National Guard, part of the 93rd Division, and other regular army units, would train there and go on to fight in France in 1918. Camp Logan was a very large place; the main camp was built on about 3000 acres, held over 1300 buildings, and had a capacity of roughly 45,000 men. The land was leased by the United States from the Hogg family.
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...ional Museum- that being the Houston Race Riots. They highlighted the problems that the nation was dealing with on the home front during the war. Camp Logan was an emergency training camp that required men to be away from their families during a time of war, but today Memorial Park is anything except that. According to the Memorial Park Conservancy, “Memorial Park has 30 miles of running and walking trails. More than 4 million people visit the park yearly, and more than 10,000 runners use the Seymour-Lieberman running trail every day. The park's golf courses host 64,000 rounds of golf every year.” (Guy). To people who live in the surrounding area, Camp Logan solely refers to the neighborhood in the northeast corner of Memorial Park. There is little left today, if anything, that helps the park’s multitude of visitors remember its short yet uniquely important history.
The history of FT. McClellan, AL began in July of 1917-1999. It was located near Anniston, AL, which was the first and only military post in that vicinity. On July 1, 1929 Camp McClellan was formally changed to Fort McClellan, which became a permanent duty assignment for active Army. Fort McClellan was named after Major General George B. McClellan, who was the General in Chief of the Army from 1861-1862. It was the first southern military installation named in honor of a northerner general. McClellan was used as a mobilization camp where soldiers of WWII trained. During WWII, McClellan was considered one of the largest military installations, where roughly half a million troops were trained. From the time that the war ended, up until the day that the based closed, McClellan had an average of 10,000 military personnel on the installation (Transition Force, 2014).
“Shiloh”. Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields: Civil War Trust. Civil War Trust. 2013. Web. 4 March 2014.
The everyday bystander would not perceive the work of art the same as a veteran or loved ones of a veteran would. In a particular instance a woman, Kathleen Cronan Wyosnick, wrote a very heartfelt letter to Abigail VanBuren [Abby] who was the first honorary member elected to the Korean War Veterans Association and previously a newspaper columnist. On November 11th, 1988 Wyosnick wrote to VanBuren pleading to consider a special group of men and women who fought in the Korean War, which is better known as the “forgotten war”. Wyosnick described in her letter how she was a former Air Force nurse who had lost her husband in the Korean War, she wrote about how the war is described in nothing more than a few paragraphs in text books. She said the only media reminder to the public of the war is a television show “M*A*S*H”. Just eight months after they got married her husband was shot down in North Korea on his first combat mission, and she never had him returned to her. She asked where the reminder of those who gave their lives in Korea was. She also asked what the Korean War Veterans Association will do to ensure that the people who lost their lives are not forgotten. The response by Abby to the letter was a sending of the check and the publishing of Wyosnick’s letter. The American Battle Monuments Commission received more than 27,000 donations totaling
...Veterans Memorial is not primary focus. Louis Torres points out Fredrick's Hart's sculptor "Three Soldiers" and Glenna Goodacre's "Vietnam Women's Memorial" as significant works of art. The articles shows the unjust and tainted opinion of the New York Times author, Daniel Orkrent's commentary. This argument was one primary ideas to contrast the positive and negative impact of the memorial.
... Vietnam Women's Memorial. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial honors members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The main part of the memorial was completed in 1982 and is located in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall, just northeast of the Lincoln Memorial. The Memorial is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service, and receives an estimated 3 million visitors each year.
One of those things is the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A young soldier with a face as solid as steel, hands as strong as iron takes twenty-one steps as he crosses in front of the white tomb. The words etched into the tomb are “Here Rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier But Known To God.” Americans from all walks of life watch, tears clouding the eyes as a young Boy Scout lays a red, white and blue wreath at the foot of the tomb. The soldier stopped and announced that all in attendance were to stand in silence, with their hand laid across their heart. All Veterans or current military personnel were encouraged to salute. I was fascinated by the young family beside me who was visiting from France. As they all placed their hands over their hearts I realized that American soldiers don’t just fight for America, they fight for the world. The patriotism swelled in my already overfilled
Just merely reading about Andersonville Prison Camp only give you a fraction what of the understanding of what happen at Andersonville, and its only by being able to visit Andersonville and looking around can you finally get the whole picture of the horror of one of the worst prison camps under the
...ings by then, whose memories, fears, and enthusiasms should not be remembered." Thus, unlike the title suggests, this remarkable war memoir is not about one soldier. Instead it refers to the entire German army who were defeated by the Allies. Although the German cause was very controversial, these gentlemen bravely fought for their country. Many men died, many were mutilated, and many more had to forever live with the atrocities they encountered. At war's end, however, they were merely "forgotten" for their failure of success. And although The Forgotten Soldier is an astonishing account of the horrors of infantry warfare, it serves a much greater purpose. It allows the historian to glance into the German experience and realize they too were young men fighting because their nation called upon them, and they deserve to be remembered for such a courageous act.
“The last American soldier left Vietnam during the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. For 2.4 million who served in Vietnam, there was no official homecoming. In June of 2005, Branson, Missouri held “Operation Welcome Home” for Vietnam Veterans. The parade and events were planned to provide the celebration and recognition they did not receive 30-plus years earlier.” (Vietnam: Homecoming) The veterans were able to see the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall and find the names of men they had known they had dies while serving. These veterans met with men they had formerly served with. Although this event was only a fraction of the welcome the soldiers truly deserved, many veterans were very appreciative of this. “Branson gave me closure to a book that has been kept open for 37 years.” (Crowe) For decades, Vietnam veterans had not been appreciated for their service to the United States. This experience allowed them to begin to heal the wounds that had been open for decades, due to the horrendous things they saw in battle and the lack of appreciation by the American people as a whole.
...ent compared to the years it held a prison camp. It no longer has thousands of people working behind it's gates. Nor does it have guards surrounding the area. Today it has long rows of graves. A remembrance of all the lives lost.
Not only are military heroes buried at Arlington, but memorials have also been built to honor others who have given their lives for America. The memorials that are located throughout Arlington tell a story about people throughout American history (Reef 43). Each year families walk the endless rows of white head stones at Arlington in order to pay their respects to the ones that have given their lives for America.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into physical representation, it is then known as a monument.
The Confederacy established Andersonville, that most infamous of Civil War prisons, in late February, 1864. It built a stockade in west central Georgia to accommodate approximately 10,000 prisoners of war. As the fighting moved ever deeper into the South in the last year of the war, the expanded stockade at one point held nearly 33,000 Union soldiers. The termination by the North of the prisoner of war exchanges which had existed previously and the continually depleting resources of the Confederacy left these prisoners stranded in miserable conditions.
The American Civil war is considered to be one of the most defining moments in American history. It is the war that shaped the social, political and economic structure with a broader prospect of unifying the states and hence leading to this ideal nation of unified states as it is today. In the book “Confederates in the Attic”, the author Tony Horwitz gives an account of his year long exploration through the places where the U.S. Civil War was fought. He took his childhood interest in the Civil War to a new level by traveling around the South in search of Civil War relics, battle fields, and most importantly stories. The title “Confederates in the Attic”: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War carries two meanings in Tony Horwitz’s thoughtful and entertaining exploration of the role of the American Civil War in the modern world of the South. The first meaning alludes to Horwitz’s personal interest in the war. As the grandson of a Russian Jew, Horwitz was raised in the North but early in his childhood developed a fascination with the South’s myth and history. He tells readers that as a child he wrote about the war and even constructed a mural of significant battles in the attic of his own home. The second meaning refers to regional memory, the importance or lack thereof yet attached to this momentous national event. As Horwitz visits the sites throughout the South, he encounters unreconstructed rebels who still hold to outdated beliefs. He also meets groups of “re-enactors,” devotees who attempt to relive the experience of the soldier’s life and death. One of his most disheartening and yet unsurprising realizations is that attitudes towards the war divide along racial lines. Too many whites wrap the memory in nostalgia, refusing...
...he possibility that maybe it is simply human nature to avoid the unpleasant and people simply choose not to remember. I have also relayed a few reasons why we DO choose to fight when called upon. WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THIS DAY IS GIVEN THE RESPECT IT SO RIGHTFULLY DESERVES. Show your respect to the men and women who fought to their last dying breath for a cause greater than their own…..by giving all that they had, all that they were, and all they were ever going to be, in exchange for our freedom. THE FREEDOM WE ENJOY TODAY WAS PURCHASED WITH THE BLOOD OF THESE FALLEN PATRIOTS. Do not let those sacrifices be forgotten. Ask yourself…are they not worthy to remember? WE MUST CHOOSE TO REMEMBER THE PAST, because the payment for forgetting is high…AND WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FORGET SUCH AN EXPENSIVE LESSON. Embrace this day, TEACH your children and EDUCATE other Americans its true meaning. REMEMBER, for a brief moment in history, our fallen heroes held our nation's destiny in their hands — and did not fail us. We must not fail them now. Let us together put the memorial back into Memorial Day!!! God bless these patriots and all who have fallen and god bless the United States of America…..