Arlington Heights in Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)

1959 – 1965

— Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial —

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 26, 2026

1. 1959 – 1965 Marker

Inscription.
Beginning in 1945 and for 30 years thereafter, the U.S. sought to prevent Communist rule in the then French colony of Vietnam. At first the effort took the form of aid to the French forces. With the defeat in 1954 and the division of the country into the governments of North and South Vietnam, U.S. aid went to South Vietnam in its war against Communist North Vietnam. A decade later the infiltration forces of North Vietnam controlled much of South Vietnam. At the same time, regular North Vietnam forces invaded South Vietnam. These circumstances, together with North Vietnam’s attacks on U.S. installations, brought the U.S. into full war with North Vietnam. By the end of 1965, there were 184,300 U.S. troops in Vietnam and 1,369 Americans had been killed.

While the war raged in Vietnam, day-to-day life in Oregon continued. Recorded on these panels is a random selection of happenings—momentous and trivial, comic and tragic—which took place in the towns and countryside from which the men named here had come and would not see again.

There was, as always, weather. One Columbus Day, a wind roared through

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the state, toppling trees and lifting roofs, turning the day dark. There were bad floods as well and, in early spring around Hood River, a cold snap froze the burgeoning pear and apple trees. The following year there was severe cold too. Outside of Dallas, the county trooper found all his traps had frozen solid.

But the inclement weather passed and Oregon returned to temperateness and the bounty of good crops. Farmers raised so many vegetables that the state placed twelfth in national production. In Wasco County the land turned golden with wheat while around Medford the orchards were heavy with a good crop of fruit. There were other kinds of crops as well. At Brookings they hauled 800,000 pounds of fish across the docks and in Klamath Falls there was a fine show of Aberdeen Angus cattle. And Oregon was indeed a land of honey, the state licensing 2,000 beekeepers in 1964. At Rickreall people gathered in the Grange Hall for their annual New Year’s dinner, grateful for the old year’s harvest.

Beyond the weather and the crops, other things happened, too. Canby bought a downtown block in which to make a park; in

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 26, 2026

2. 1959 – 1965 Marker

This marker is the first to be read when walking the path from the direction of the Garden of Solace memorial.

Eugene, jogging got its start; Medford held a rooster crowing contest; a Lake Oswego girl went off with the Peace Corps to far Tanzania; and in Bend a woman organized Operation Sweettooth, which sent 11,000 pounds of candy to soldiers overseas. There were also less happy events. Over 3,300 people died in auto accidents. And on December 6, 1962, as Portlanders were offered 50,000 rose cuttings from the city’s parks, a native son died, the first Portlander killed in Vietnam.

William W. Newton II • Richard D. Benzel • James D. Parker • George W. Watson • Grover K. Olson • Delbert C. La Flemme • Jesse A. Pyle • Elvis G. Barker • Thomas F. Mineau • Harold J. Roberts Jr. • William A. Oberg • Glen W. Bradley • Larry A. Lindsey • Alan S. Anderson • Vernon L. Haynes • Richard C. Elzinga • Arden K. Hassenger • David A. Morgan • John D. Musgrove • Gary E. Elford • Alan L. Barnett • Wright B. Hamill • Paul T. McClellan Jr. • Rollie L. Bolden • Robert S. Shriver Jr. • Carl B. Austin • Robert K. Collins • Donald W. Lovett

Erected 1987.

Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, Vietnam.

Location. 45° 30.698′ N,

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 26, 2026

3. 1959 – 1965 Marker

This marker is in the foreground with additional memorials along the pathway.

122° 43.137′ W. Memorial is in Portland, Oregon, in Multnomah County. It is in Arlington Heights. It can be reached from the intersection of Southwest Canyon Road and Vietnam Veterans of Oregon Memorial Pathway, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 4000 SW Canyon Rd, Portland OR 97221, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge

and in the Willamette Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 1966 – 1967 (within shouting distance of this marker); Garden of Solace (within shouting distance of this marker); 1968 – 1969 (within shouting distance of this marker); 1970 – 1971 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Oregon Vietnam Veterans Living Memorial (about 300

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, June 26, 2026

4. 1959 – 1965 Marker

A close-up of some of the text included in the memorial.

feet away); 1972 – 1976 (about 300 feet away); MIA (about 400 feet away); Les AuCoin (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Portland.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 7, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 30, 2026, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 30, 2026, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.