As you all know (or for new visitors, now know - lol), I am a Veteran. I signed up for the Navy during Gulf War I, and have nothing but respect and admiration for my fellow Veteran's and Active Service People. A great BIG shout out to all the brave Men and Women currently fighting our battles for us!So when I see a Veteran's Memorial, I have to pull over and check it out. I found this one on the way to Klamath Falls, Oregon and it is amazing. If you get the chance, go see it in person. The landscape (with Mt. Shasta dominating the skyline) is as much a part of this artistic tribute as are the sculptures themselves! My pictures are not the greatest here - I was in a hurry to get to where I was going, so go check out the official website for much better pictures and information.
Excerpt of description from the Official Website for the Memorial:
"The Living Memorial Sculpture Garden rests upon the northwestern slope of Mt Shasta, 13 miles north of the City of Weed, on Hwy 97 in Siskiyou County, California.
It is situated on 136 acres of land provided by the USDA Forest Service, which were replanted with tens of thousands of trees by countless volunteers.
The trees are living tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives in war. The sculpture garden, a place for reflection & remembrance, healing & reconciliation.
The LMSG pays homage to all honorable veterans, in conflict and in peace.
The LMSG was founded by a group of veterans in 1988. Today, the Garden is proudly sponsored & maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Weed/Lake Shastina.
There are currently ten sculpture groups by artist Dennis Smith, with an eleventh to be dedicated in November 2007."The website is a bit dated, but their photographs are amazing and there is a lot of great information on the Memorial and its environs. Here are some of my photos.
Gene Breceda Memorial Sponsors Wall
"Near the entrance of the LMSG, stands a small granite wall dedicated to those special people and organizations who have sponsored the LMSG with substantial contributions. The LMSG is a community based non-profit organization. Twice a year, the names of new Sponsors of the LMSG are placed upon this small wall, in memorial, as a token of our gratitude and respect for their generous efforts."
These are few of the sculptures that I photographed. They were so powerful - bigger than life and as stoic as an actual service member. My pictures do them no justice, it should be experienced in person. The official website has all the information on each sculpture, for brevity I am only posting a few of my pictures below.
To show the perspective and amazing detail, I am posting multiple angles of a couple of the most heart wrenching Sculptures. No matter what angle you view them from, you really feel like you are in the action - in the heart and soul of the captured moment.
There are so many more, along with actual graves (so please be respectful) and a Labyrinth with nearby picnic tables:
Lastly, the POW/MIA Sculpture was the most one that affected me the deepest. It is so heart-wrenchingly depicted that it's a good thing there are benches to sit down on to take it all in. In front of the Sculpture is a shrine that says everything you need to know about those that visit this Memorial . . .
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