In July, the Vietnam Vets of America, Quad Cities Chapter, dedicated a monument to John Baker, who was awarded a CMH for heroism in Vietnam. The top of the monument has a quite nice bronze eagle atop a stone obelisk.
The location of the monument is a bit odd… in front of the Jumers hotel and casino in Rock Island, Illinois. While I’ve little use for casinos, I must admit to some admiration for Jumers. The Illinois gaming commission has laws strictly limiting the location of casinos. I believe the law is written that only casinos “on water” are legal; the intent here was to mean that only riverboat casinos are legal. But the “on water” wording turned out to have a loophole, which Jumers exploited: the gaming floor, as I understand it, rests on a large, flat bladder filled with water, something like 3/8″ thick. It’s not a boat, but it’s on water.
Clever.
2 Responses to “CMH Awardee Memorial”
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That is amazing work.
I sure hope it’s attached to the top of the monument better than it looks like it is, as the last thing they need is it falling off and injuring or killing someone.
Note that if a real eagle tried to balance on it the way it’s shown, it would slide right off…there’s nothing for the claws to get a grip on. 🙂