 |
|
..        |
|
     |
|
| .. Monument 326 Site
No.
23 and 1/2 -
Sand
Point Naval Air Station
Address: NE 74th St & 62nd Ave. NE - Built 1972 |
 The
photo above is by
Capt. RON MILLER, Base commander 78-80
Captain Miller has been instrumental in aiding this historic group to gain a fabulous amount of Sand Point History. The Captain personally cleaned the "FREEDOM TREE" plaque as you see it below. |
 Memorial LOCATION  2010 google earth image . REMEMBRANCE DAY 2010 .  Capt. Ron
Miller was a F4 Phantom pilot over Vietnam. He wore a bracelet like
that above for a fellow pilot. On a mission with two planes, Ron was
the only witness to seeing his fellow pilot being shot
down, captured and imprisoned. Ron wore this bracelet for many years
until the fellow actually came home. Ron then gave his bracelet to the
MIA.
|
||||
 Polishing By Ron Miller - May 11, 2010 In 1972, near the end of the Vietnam War, a
bronze plaque was placed under a 40 foot Deodar Cedar (Cedrus Deodarus)
at a prominent point on the Sand Point Navy Base in Seattle, now know
as "Magnuson Park." At an unknown time later, the plaque was moved to a
three and a half foot tall white concrete obelisk at the same place. Now,
38 years later, the tree has grown to some 80 feet. The purpose of the
monument was to honor those who had served but did not come home.
As of February, 2010, 1,720 Americans are still listed by DOD as
missing and unaccounted for in that war. Search and recovery
operations are ongoing.
The monument and the "Freedom Tree," are located at the northwest corner of NE 74th Street and 62nd Avenue NE: one block inside the main entrance to Magnuson Park: just steps from Building 25. An article published in the Seattle Times on Saturday, February 3, 1973, P.A. was captioned "A wreath for Freedom Tree." The article states that, on the previous day, Mrs. Mary Jane Jensen placed a wreath near a plaque and under an Alaskan fir during ceremonies in front of the 13th Naval District Headquarters building at the Sand Point Naval Support Activity. Seabees from Sand Point's public-works department cemented four fir logs together under the tree and attached the plaque to the logs. The 40 year old fir was dedicated as a special tribute to the "Sons of Washington and all Prisoners of War and Missing in Action." Mrs. Jensen of Tacoma. Mrs. Jensen, whose husband George is missing in Indochina, was assistant state coordinator for Washington Families of POW/MIA. Nearly twenty years later, on September 21, 1991, POW/MIA Recognition Day, the Freedom Tree Memorial was re-dedicated.
Elevation from West - One Year After polish - 2011  By Lynn Fergunson Elevation from East - 2010   |
|||||
