Freedom Park is an urban public park just to the South of Uptown Charlotte. It was created as a tribute to the Americans who fought in World War II.
As part of my recovery program, we started the day by making a lap around the soccer field at the local YMCA. Afternoon temperatures are now tolerable.
Having survived that test, we decided to visit Freedom Park. In 1976, President Gerald Ford visited Charlotte and gave a speech at Freedom Park. It was partly part of the Bicentennial celebration and partly a campaign opportunity for his failed reelection campaign.
Some pictures are in order:
Obligatory train picture
Remembering:
A scene Bob Ross could have painted
the monument to the americans who were in the CBI (china, burma, india) theater of operations was very detailed, mentioning different kinds of service rendered (including women who worked as nurses.) two sentences jumped out at me — one remembering Merrill’s Marauders and one honoring those who served in the oss. the monument was erected by veterans of CBI in 2000.
nearby was another monument — to 36 men from mecklenburg county (basically, charlotte, north carolina) who were killed on d-day. overwhelmingly, those men were airborne soldiers.
if you haven’t seen “band of brothers,” please watch it. (fred and i binge-watched the entire mini-series earlier this summer.) dick winters is one of my great heroes. i even read his book. and i still have the green rubber bracelet i bought years ago as part of a fundraiser to build a statue of him in normandy to honor what he did there. (he was nominated for the medal of honor for that service.) an extraordinary american.
Looks to be a beautiful park. I would be the “kid” climbing all over the locomotive. I also would read as much as I could on the war memorials.
I am with you, Countess. Dick Winters and all of those men were amazing. I believe, like my Father-in-Law who flew in B-17’s that they would all say that they were “just doing their job”.