AIDS Memorial - New York City

   I read an Article⁽¹⁾, recently, on the proposed “AIDS MEMORIAL” for lower Manhattan (New York City). The second thing that came to mind was the question of why would anyone feel the need to glorify such a devastating disease. So, I did a little “google-ing” of some of our major disease over time. I wanted to find out if any other disease had memorial status. What I found was, where a memorial was present, the focus was not on the disease, but on the people who succumbed to them. For the most part, these memorials are unobtrusive, stone markers. They seem to be located in, or very close to, the Cemeteries where the afflicted are buried.

   It is my sincere hope that this Memorial in Manhattan reflects on all the Souls lost to this disease, and that it not singularly for those in New York City. All too often, it is the disease and the Doctors who get the accolades and the Memorials; all that is good, and fitting. I look forward to this Memorial’s completion with an emphasis on the People.  The heart of this City is certainly big enough to be Nationally, and Personally inclusive.

⁽¹⁾ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/permanent-aids-memorial-in-greenwich-village- 

    takes-a-step-closer-to-reality/

MEMORIALS/MONUMENTS TO PEOPLE WHO DIED OF MAJOR DISEASES ( Google searched} 

Polio	NO	there are statues & monuments to Dr. Salk for his vaccine
Smallpox	Absolutely no mention of Native Americans	Smallpox Island Memorial - West Alton, Missouri - American Civil War -Monument faces south and is in memory of the 26 Confederate prisoners of war and 16 civilians who died from smallpox
Cholera	Europe, Africa, Far East	Cholera Monument Grounds and Clay Wood -You +1'd this publicly. Undo                The Cholera Monument is a memorial in Sheffield, England to the victims of a cholera epidemic of 1832.
Measles/Rubella	worldwide	Measles Memorial Cemetery, AR You +1'd this publicly. Undo
Diphtheria	NO
Bubonic  Plague	Europe, Eastern Europe - Slovenia, Germany, UK, Austria, Czech Rep.
Sickle Cell Anemia	North America; On-line memorials and testaments	Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. - Tributes & Memorials:You +1'd this publicly. Undo SCDAA's Tributes and Memorials. Tributes are to someone that wakes up each day and overcomes insurmountable odds. Memorials are a testament to a life
Malaria	NO