Here's a well-designed Veterans memorial plaza --made Hallowed and Sacred ground. That means never…read moreis yelling done here and no playing or games are to be played here. That includes pokeman players. I stood here to recognize, honor, respect, and grieve at the sacrifice of GIs. For they left too many pieces of their youth in too many battles for too many years. As I always do during our visits to any Veterans memorials, I cried silently. For over and over and over I kept hearing young voices. They were softly saying: when you go home, tell them of us and that for your tomorrows, we gave our today. All Veterans memorials commemorate that the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one's country. Veterans answered the call. Isaiah 6:8 ESV: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." Here is a memorial for those who wrote a blank check to the United States of America for up to and including their life. As I left, I remembered, all history, such as what is here, is prologue. February is Black History Month During World War I (28 July 1914 - 11 Nov 1918), despite rampant, violent and overt racism, more than 350,000 black Americans Served in US Army segregated units; 6,750 in US Navy though only allowed as coal heavers, messmen, stewards, and cooks; just over 5,000 in US Coast Guard as messmen others at segregated Life-Saving Stations there to aid ships in distress; the US Marines then barred all blacks. Approximately 1,200 of those holding US Army officer commissions during World War I were black. The French needed more military men during World War I and welcomed black Americans as equal comrades-in-arms. To French Army instructors, blacks were simply Americans to be trained for combat. The black Americans clearly excelled. The 369th Infantry regiment, later nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters", of which one Henry Johnson was a member, was among the first to arrive in France, and among the most highly decorated when it returned home. William Henry Johnson (circa 15 Jul 1892 - 1 Jul 1929), commonly known as Henry Johnson, enlisted 5 June 1917, in United States Army. Private Johnson performed heroically and above the call of duty in the first African American unit of the US Army to engage in combat in World War I. On watch in the Argonne Forest on 14 May 1918, he fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing several enemy soldiers and rescuing a fellow soldier all while suffering 21 wounds. In 1918, the French government awarded Johnson with a Croix de Guerre with the highest Star and Bronze Palm. He was the first US soldier in World War I to receive that honor. Johnson's military heroism first came to national attention in an article by Irvin S. Cobb entitled "Young Black Joe" published in the 24 August 1918 Saturday Evening Post. Returning home, now-Sergeant Johnson participated with his 369th Infantry regiment in a victory parade on Fifth Avenue in New York City in February 1919. Veterans Bureau records show a "permanent and total disability" rating for tuberculosis granted to Johnson 16 September 1927. Additional Veterans Bureau records refer to him receiving monthly Veterans disability compensation and regular visits by Veterans Bureau medical personnel until his Service-connected all-too-early death 1 July 1929, in Washington, D.C. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery 6 July 1929. In November 1991, a monument was erected in Albany, New York's Washington Park in Johnson's honor, and a section of Northern Boulevard was renamed Henry Johnson Boulevard. The US Army awarded him awarded the Purple Heart in 1996, and in 2002, the Distinguished Service Cross. 4 September 2007, the Brighter Choice Foundation in Albany, New York, dedicated the Henry Johnson Charter School, with Johnson's granddaughter in attendance. A 1918 commercial poster honoring Johnson's wartime heroics was the subject of a 2012 episode of the PBS television series History Detectives. December 2014, City School District of Albany established a Junior Reserve Officers Training Program (JROTC) at Albany High School named the Henry Johnson Battalion in honor of him. The program currently enrolls over 100 cadets. 2 June 2015, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a posthumous ceremony at the White House. 2017, Albany-area PBS station WMHT aired a documentary about Johnson titled Henry Johnson: A Tale of Courage. Johnson's story is recounted in the song Don't Tread on Me (Harlem Hellfighters) by the Ukrainian death metal band 1914 on their album Where Fear and Weapons Meet, released 22 October 2021. 24 May 2022, The Naming Commission recommended that Fort Polk in Leesville, Louisiana, be renamed Fort Johnson after Henry Johnson, rather than its former namesake, a confederate who had taken up arms again US.

REVIEW #2900! The…read moreVeterans Memorial Plaza was dedicated on May 31, 2004. It's located adjacent to Walnut Creek City Hall and was one place that Gayle walked me through on our very first date back on March 9, 2005. It consists of a tree-lined and landscaped plaza, granite walkways and facings, quiet places to sit, small pools of water, strategically placed inscriptions, and obelisks marked with the 5 main military branches - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. I returned for the 2011 Memorial Day ceremony that started across the street at the Civic Park Gazebo and finished up here. This year's theme was to honor the more tan 80,000 American soldiers who remain missing in action. The guest speaker was U.S. Navy Cmdr. Renee Richardson, who works for the U.S. Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office in Washington, D.C. Although that address was very good, one other main highlight for me was the recognition of a citizen who had worn a POW/MIA bracelet for years, and donated it to her solder, as his remains were finally recovered and given a proper military burial. The theme of "Leave No One Behind" was very powerful at that point. The other key highlight was Gayle's son (a Marine Veteran) laying a wreath at the Plaza in in memory of service personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice. And all this while his daughter, wife, parents, other family members, a Marine Honor Guard, a military plane overflight, and other citizens (including Veterans) bore witness.

Now that I'm such a seasoned hiker (tongue firmly in cheek), I can say with some temerity that I…read morefound this mile-long trail a bit, shall we say, short. I don't mind short trails, but I had to fill up my daily step requirement elsewhere and headed over to Briones for that purpose. That's not to say this trail wasn't worthwhile. It most definitely was as the 13% grade wasn't insurmountable. It allowed nice views of the Carquinez Strait and Mount Diablo at the top. The circuitous trails were surrounded by various oak trees and wildflowers. I made an attempt at following the riding trail that goes through a gamey tunnel under the highway, but it made a dramatic climb which deflated my unearned self-image of a seasoned hiker. Regardless you can see why John Muir took pleasure in taking his daughters with him through these hills. Wanda was the name of his eldest daughter. The trailhead is directly to your right at the Alhambra Avenue exit off Hwy 4. RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU

When the dog and I need a good hike that isn't too far from home and we can do in a reasonable…read moreamount of time, we come to Mt. Wanda. My man and I are hiking here every other weekend at least. The dog loves it. We recently did the Full Moon Hike that is put on by the Rangers. The kids tagged along. Its free and one of the few times you're allowed on the Mt. during the night. The kids had a wonderful time meandering around in the dark. It was fun to be out of our element with flashlights. The moon was beautiful. The only negative is ticks. We went hiking on Thanksgiving morning with our dog and proceeded to pull seven ticks off our dog. The most yet. Wear bug spray and make sure that your dog is properly protected. Morning, noon or night this is a great hike to take.

Happy Veterans Day! On this special day, let's honor the brave men and women in service in the…read morepast, present or in the future. Let me do my small contribution in honoring them by introducing the public to the Lafayette Hillside Memorial. I have passed by Lafayette during the numerous bart rides I've taken touring the city. However, I was unaware of this memorial until one day that I met up with my yelp friend, Karen at the parking lot of this station. I immediately noticed the white crosses all over the hillside. Karen gave me bits of information as she was able to google while waiting for me. We decided to walk closer to take some pictures. There was no landmark or anything at the site to explain its significance. We saw a sign showing 7940 but didn't know at that time what it meant. Now we know that this represents the total number of soldiers who were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To the brave men and women in service, We Salute You!

The scene on the carriage as it moves through the Lafayette station is to me a visual metaphor for…read moreour collective awareness of things War these days. Those of you who ride the train know of what I speak. Not that I'm suggesting that every time their carriage rolls past the riders ought pull their eyeballs from their devices and look north to the south-facing hill covered in a blanket of from a distance small white crosses almost asterisks to the thousands of lives they represent. Asterisks saying here stands a visual representation of a man or woman who gave their life in service of this country. I'm not suggesting this, no. All I offer is an observation that the times I'm on that train filled with others going from here to there I don't really see any heads ever come up at all and that in ways feels like how we've come to be about war far away barely talked about a hum in the background as if this is the way it's always going to be. Setting aside the motivation for the war undertaking in the first place for as different people have different views and I'm sure those who have gone to physically battle are not uniform in their perspective either. But don't set aside the reality that at this very moment on the other side of the world many many people are experiencing something very very different from what we are to degrees blessed to experience here. Sometimes I can't sleep at night because the streetlamp is bright. Other places it's the scream of mortars that keeps you up until the light comes again if it does. Back in a day a very long time ago my mother and father would have the news on over supper and the first thing Walter Cronkite gave us was the body count. And by so doing he and others like him kept the recognition that all was not right front and center in our consciousness and this awareness actually motivated in ways a punctuation of these overseas excursions. Anymore unless you dig around for it this information is not readily available. Tell me how many are deployed, tell me at what expense. You can, but you've got to search first. You don't perhaps think of it often. For me, this does a disservice to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, irrespective who sent them. I hear the land on which this memorial stands is for sale and that the Owner offered the property on which the memorial is constructed to the city but the offer was turned down because there are crosses and people would take issue with crosses and I guess I understand but am hoping that if this land trades the new Owner can find a way to preserve some version of what's there presently. Because we need one.