The other day while driving around in downtown San Antonio, I noticed a huge memorial. I didn't get a chance to stop and take a good look, however, it was quite impressive. I did gather that it read Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I was actually facing the back of this memorial, with a grunt looking up to the sky with a radio strapped to his back and the long "Whip" antenna. It looked like a PRC-77 with whip attached to it.
When I settled down that evening, I decided to check it out on the internet.
To my astonishment, this was nothing new. It had been in San Antonio since 1986. Some five years after I had visited that place for the first time. But all the other times since, I have never seen it. This was off of HOUSTON street in downtown San Antonio.
What impressed me about this memorial, is that it shows the grunt part of the war. The troops that were mostly affected by it. Not a fancy pilot sitting in a cockpit of a jet, not a statue of a tank or helicopter, but rather, a simple grunt laying over his wounded buddy looking for a helo to take him out. That whip antenna looks pretty cool overlooking the city of San Antonio. I wonder if that can take on lighting strikes during rain storms.
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