Being new to the list, forgive me if I tell you about something you
already know:

Story #1:

How many of you have ever seen the Vietnam Veterans' memorial in
Frankfort, Kentucky?  I was born in Kentucky and was fortunate to visit
the memorial when I had some understanding of how sundials work.  The
sundial has markings on the ground which correspond to the date and time
that individuals died during the conflict.  The hour angle is mapped to
the year the person died, and the season is mapped to the calendar date
of the person's death;  the effect is that when the gnomon's shadow
points to the name of a person it also indicates the month and year they
died.  At least, that is my recollection of it having visited it several
years ago.

An interesting side effect is the way names cluster around certain
locations indicating an increase in the number of casualties during
certain parts of the war.

Here's a link that shows pictures of the memorial, but unfortunately,
does not give a detailed explanation:

http://www.vietvet.org/kymem.htm

You'll notice the names are not in alphabetical order in some of the
pictures.

It is definitely worth a visit and not too hard to get to if you are
driving on I-64 between Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, USA.  I'd
say it would take you less than an hour from Lexington and perhaps a bit
more than an hour from Louisville.


jeff adkins
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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