The Mecklenburg County Vietnam Memorial is located in Thompson Park between Third and Fourth Streets and between Charlottetown Avenue and Kings Drive. Entrance to the park is from Third Street only. The memorial lists the names of the war dead by year similar to The Wall in Washington, DC, where 58,253 names are etched. There is a chronological history of the war as well as a map of Vietnam.
The memorial was dedicated on November 11th, 1989. Do you know the significance of the month and day and to which of America's wars it refers? Take the time during your visit to the park to read the history of the war, reflecting on this tumultuous time in America's recent past. Read the Poem.
Stroll around the grounds of the park and note beautiful St. Mary's Chapel, the only building remaining from Thompson Orphanage which was once on the site. St. Mary's Chapel is a popular wedding venue. If you are geocaching on a weekend afternoon you will likely encounter a wedding party.
A. Number of the Mecklenburg County lives lost.
B. Number of Presidents during war years.
C. Year Lochlin Walker died.
D. Number of years through which war lasted.
N 35* 12.XXX' W 080* 49.YYY'
XXX: ((A x B) + 378)
YYY: (((C + D) / 6) + 9)
checksum: X+X+X+Y+Y+Y=35
Because of the park's renovation, on May 31st, 2023 the cache was been moved a short distance away. So,
For XXX subtract 24
For YYY subtract 17
checksum: X+X+X+Y+Y+Y=30
The coordinates will take you to nearby Independence Park. You will see at the corner of Hawthorne Lane and Seventh Street a marker that hearkens to another war and another of the war memorial caches in this series. Parking is available on the street all around the park. The cache is a green-taped micro. Ensure that you leave the cache having recorded the information you used to compute the coordinates. “
Veterans Cache is a fifth and final cache in the series and uses the information derived from the four caches.