Secret Memorial

[jmbrooks8]

Ever hear of SOLDIERSTONE?
Not a peak, but a secret hidden memorial built in Rio Grande NF, Saguache Co, CO.
Secret? Hidden? And yet first time I hear of it, watching the News while in Seattle, WA.
Articles written. YouTube video. And yet no publicized exact location?

Anyone been there? Where is it? Is it at least hard to get to?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/08/25/inspiration-nation-soldierstone/14589759/
http://hiddencolorado.kunc.org/soldierstone/

[Scott Patterson]

I haven't been there, but it's marked on Google maps (though I don't know if the mark is accurate):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Soldi ... 06.3845257

[jmbrooks8]

Looks like that is not accurate, since I stood on that exact spot in 2016 when hiking to Sargents Mesa from the N & W & along the CD.

[John Kirk]

Found it on satellite:
https://goo.gl/maps/2Euud94kdH5GaUFPA

38.292028, -106.371389

[CandaceS]

Interesting! If I get to Colorado next summer, I should try to visit this.

[jmbrooks8]

Spot on JK, cool! Clear as day on satellite.
3/4 mi. NE of Sargents Mesa summit. No wonder I did not come across it coming from SW side.
Seems like a worthy visit someday soon.

[Jeremy Hakes]

thanks for sharing and finding this!

[Jeremy Hakes]

Is the link for the article not working anymore? I read it once... now it doesn't work?

[Jeremy Hakes]

Cut and pasted from the article: (I think you can only access it some # of times per month)

Typically when we report on an inspiring person or location, we tell you all of the details…the who, the what, the where. Not this time. In order to cover the following story, KUSA in Denver promised not to give away the location of what they were about to film. So you'll have to watch the video above if you want clues to find this amazing memorial in the forest.

Hidden away in the 1.8-million-acre Rio Grande National Forest is a treasure few people are aware of. It was created nearly 20 years ago by a man who devoted the remaining years of his life to honoring soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Allen Beckley fought in Vietnam from 1962 through 1973. After the war, he wanted to do something for his fellow soldiers and had the idea to build a stone memorial on national forest land. Beckley's dream eventually became reality and by the mid-90s, SOLDIERSTONE had been built.


But Beckley didn't want many people to know about it. He never intended for large crowds to visit it and to take pictures of it. According to his sister, Beckley figured veterans would hear about it and spread word to their fellow soldiers who were impacted by the Vietnam War.

According to the Forest Service, a letter written by Beckley stated "my name is not to appear anywhere on the monument's grounds… it's 'for them', not 'for us.' Everyone who works on SOLDIERSTONE should do so out of respect and humility ... our job is to get it done and leave it to nature."

The main memorial is surrounded by several stones with quotes engraved in them. Each stone is written in a different language. One, which is written in Vietnamese reads, "Although we have at times been strong, at times weak, we have at no time lacked heroes".