The Second Life Veterans Tribute

 
By Bixyl Shuftan, 

Besides Thanksgiving, November is also known for Veterans Day in the United States. And every November, a group of volunteers set up the Veterans Tribute in honor of American vets, as well as veterans from other countries. The location varries year to year, and in 2021 it's at the Rainbow Dream sim. This year marks the fifteenth the Tribute has been around in Second Life.

Welcome to the 15th Annual SL Veteran’s Tribute for 2021.  This is the 15th annual Veteran’s Tribute that we have put together. 

The tribute will be open from November 1st through November 15th!

The Tribute itself is non-political and serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is to honor all the men and women that have given willing of their time to protect the lives we enjoy today.

The goal of the Tribute is to provide a non-political, content filled, educational, interactive SIM inside Second Life where men and women of all walks of life can visit and provide remembrance and honor to those who have served in the Armed Services.

The tribute operates on a zero dollar budget and is non-profit; the entire tribute is built, funded, organized and executed on a purely volunteer basis. We have an organized group on SL called the “SL Veteran’s Tribute” if you would like to look it up.  This group will be used as the basis of our planning and scheduling for the Tribute.

Getting a notecard from Wildroses Pevensey, it had the following:

We will be hosting events daily (its not to late if you are still interested in donating some of your time to entertain us) Or if you would just like to come by and see the wall or submit a name to the wall. We continue to ad names to the wall and watch it grow. It is for past present and currently serving military Veterans around the world. I would try to describe the sim but i just can't it is something you have to see for yourself!

The SURL provided takes you to a small building that offers you a notecard explaining about the tribute. There's also a sign with some quick teleports to some of the different areas, such as the main stage. There's a sign next to the building showing what events are going on that day, or what went on the last day there were events. Walking straight ahead is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 Straight ahead from there is the Memorial Wall in the center of the sim, sometimes just called "The Wall." I found a couple whom are known to history, WW1 aces Billy Bishop of Canada and Manfred von Ricthofen of Germany (the only German I saw on the memorial). Most are known only to friends and family, a mix of deceased veterans and some still alive, both retired and still serving. These are not just names on stones, but have stories behind them. The Newser reported on a few of them, Jacob Bolton/Lothi Aeon and the story of several US Marines from the same fire team who died in action or of wounds as described by a brother in arms, the one in the team who made it home.

The front section of The Wall has a number of flags overhead, with the United States and Canada in front. All the flags represent democratic republics. In the middle of the sections of wall is a fountain. It is surrounded by poppies and the flags and emblems of the six branches of the American military, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and the newest one, the Space Force.

Surrounding The Wall are smaller displays, such as the Canadian Memorial, the September 11 Memorial, and the P.O.W. Memorial. There are two stages, the main stage and a smaller stage, for events. There are also displays of tanks and other ground vehicles, and a few planes in the air. There's also a couple ships, a battleship and a destroyer, on display in the water. There is something new this year. Previously, there was just a picture of the Lincoln Memorial. Now, it's an actually three-dimensional build, Lincoln Statue and all.

Monday November 1 was the opening of the Tribute, and that afternoon and evening there was an eight hour party at the smaller stage to celebrate with four DJs playing for four two-hour sets. I dropped in while Flattop Ewing was DJing, and it seems he hadn't played in a while, one lady saying, "Soooooooo great to hear you DJ again, after (over) ten years." Flattop laughed, "Right Dena? After (over) ten years, I think I might have lost a step or two?" There was more talking and joking. Eventually they told me that earlier, Ekim Linden had dropped by in a pinata avatar, showing me a picture.

Flattop and I would talk a little after the part. Of the Memorial Wall, "A lot of those names up there, I have heard some amazing stories over the years. Some will make ya cry, and then some will make ya cry laughing. ... Met a lady two years ago here. She lost her husband in Vietnam, she lost both her sons in Desert Storm, she lost her grandson in Afghanistan." He looked back at how long the Tribute has gone on, "Fifteen years now, absolutely incredible.  I think it showed that Second Life actually NEEDED a Veterans Tribute like this. I never even dreamed it would go this long." He appreciated the attention the Newser had given the tribute over time, "I love hearing the stories, so we never forget."

The Veterans Tribute is scheduled to be up until November 15. After that, it will soon fade away for another year.

To see more pictures of the Tribute, one can check out the Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/groups/14733957@N20/

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rainbow%20Dream/128/128/21

Image credit: Samson Rowley

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Veterans Tribute in Second Life

By Bixyl Shuftan

Tuesday November 11 was Veterans Day, and like other major holidays it saw some events on the Grid. The most notable exhibition was the Second Life Veterans Tribute. Constructed every year for several years, this year it was in a quarter of the Kajam sim. The starting spot was in a field of poppies, one of the symbols of Armistice Day in England.

The main part of the exhibition was the Memorial Wall. Each brick had the name of a veteran, alive or deceased, or sometimes they had the names of groups of veterans. Visitors could offer the names of veterans they know. Names on the wall have gone all the way back to the Revolutionary and Civil War. Among the soldiers on the wall was Lothi Aeon, in real life Jacob D. Borton, whom was murdered on May 11 2009 in the attack on Camp Liberty while trying to protect a comrade.

In the center of the Memorial Wall was a tribute to the five branches of the American military, with a description of the history of each flag.

There were a number of smaller memorials, such as this one of the Fort Hood Shooting in Nov. 2009 in which thirteen soldiers were killed. Other memorials included one to Canadian veterans, and one for Pearl Harbor.

People dropped in throughout the day, such as this group of two adults and several child avatars.

In the past, the location of the Veterans Tribute was full of a number of events across the week. This time, not so much. There was a small spontaneous party set up by Wildroses Pevensey, one of the Veterans Tribute team in the afternoon.

 The Veterans Tribute has been the scene of a number of stories. Particuarly moving was the interview of one Marine as he described how several comrades of his met their end in the Middle East.

Bixyl Shuftan

Veterans Day Themed Places and Events in Second Life

This week, and before, a number of events are taking place for the benefit of veterans in Second Life. Some of these are yearly events. Others are places which are always active and have special events. And then there are locations active throughout the year, and are simply more visible now.

For the fifth year in a row, the Second Life Veterans Tribute will be taking place. Hosted by the Flying Tigers, the location is high over the WW2 Pacific sim. One reason it hasn’t been mentioned earlier by the Newser is the team hasn’t quite had as much time to get the word out. “The SLVT is a ‘ lil scaled back this year as real-life constraints did not afford the necessary time to dedicate it truely,” explained Wellhung Bagley, “We were fortunate that the Flying Tigers agreed to host it.”

The Tribute has a number of displays up, from airplane exhibits, to the Second Life Coast Guard, to the National Native American Veterans Association and more. But the biggest one of all is the Second Life World War II Memorial, “permanently housed on the sim. This Memorial is a scaled replica of the original memorial located in Washington D.C. The SL version was commissioned by the SL Flying Tigers and built by RL architect, Deusen Marx. The purpose of this Memorial is to honor the sacrifices of a generation and commemorate the Allied victory in World War II. “

The continuing feature from previous Tributes is the Memorial Wall, each block a contribution by a resident to honor a Veteran alive or deceased. Wildroses Pevensey informed, “We have some new blocks that are in the newer section of the wall this year, a drummer boy from the Union Army (he lied about his age and enlisted when he was 14). We also have a block of veterans, submitted by one of their brothers, he comes every year to honor them.”

On Friday Veterans Day, the Flying Tigers are scheduled to perform several flyovers.

5:00 PM - Golden Tigers
5:30 PM - WW2 Flyover
6:00 PM - Second Life Coast Guard (SLCG)
6:30 PM - 23rd Flyover
7:00 PM - Historical Flyover
7:30 PM - Golden Tigers

For Saturday, the last day of the Tribute, the emphasis will be music, “this will be a combination of Live Singers and Live DJ's starting at 12 PM SLT. We are still working on the schedule but it is going to start at noon and go till it stops.”

The Veterans Tribute is at World War II Memorial Park, WW2 Pacific (128, 9, 2517). One can read more at http://slveteranstribute.blogspot.com/ . Funds raised go to “Operation Uplink, to provide free phone calls for veterans overseas.

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Another big event is the “Fearless Festival,” also known as the “Be Fearless PTSD Awareness Event.” Organized by the Fearless Nation Group, the thrid annual “Be Fearless” event offers “ten days of live music, art exhiits, sims hunt, sponsor showcase, and more.”

Fearless Nation welcome(s) all PTSD sufferers, their families, friends, and clinicians, war veterans, law enforcement personnel, emergency response workers, those traumatized by sexual abuse, child abuse, torture, human trafficking, hostage events and crime, man-made and natural disasters, and physical, psychological, and verbal trauma.

Honour McMillian wrote, “They provide information, access to resources, classes, workshops, support groups and more. They also hold an annual festival to heighten awareness of this debilitating problem and the help that is available as well as education to address the widespread issue of stigma associated with any mental illness.“ Anya Ibor is the founder of the group.

“I don't know anybody, including myself, whose life has not been touched or altered by mental illness whether their own or that of a loved one. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of this burden is the feeling of being "alone." Second Life and Fearless Nation help begin recovery by first addressing this issue and then providing the support and assistance necessary to ensure that the appropriate treatment for PTSD is received.”

For the month, two sims have been set up for an art exhibition. One can find displays from artists such as Trill Zapetero, Scottius Polke, and Bryn Oh.

The Fearless Festival is at Oak Beach (96, 156, 22). For more information, go to http://www.fearless-nation.org/EVENT2011.html .

Source: Honour McMillian

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The London sims have an event to honor veterans in Hyde Park on November 11th. Residents are invited to visit the Tower Hill War Memorial at Knightsbridge (82, 234, 21). From 10AM to 12 Noon SL time, there will be a party at Hyde Park with a 2000L prize. On Saturday and Sunday are additional parties near the War Memorial at London England UK (104, 46, 22), starting at Noon and 10 AM respectively.

Other places include the Garden of Rememberance, “The ‘Garden of Remembrance’ is there for all to visit in memory of and tribute to the armed forces from the UK, British Commonwealth, the USA and NATO, as well as for all the reserves and volunteers.” The place is a memorial with poppy flowers slowly drifting down, with pictures and poetry on the walls, the ground having fields of more poppies. The place is at RoBeck Land (211, 104, 33).

Finally, there is Patriot Island. This location is more than the location of a memorial, but also hosts an active military community with regular events. They frequenly hold fundraisers for the Wounded Warrior Project. They are located at the US Military Veterans' Center, Patriot Island (165, 125, 28)

There are of course many more locations, and much went on while exploring these featured ones which will have to wait for further articles. By all means drop by to experience for yourself, and search for more.

Bixyl Shuftan