THE BAGHDAD TRAIL is the latest idea I have under the umbrella of the MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT. This is our way saluting THE 4000 PLUS GIS who have died in this very unpopular Iraq War.

THE BAGHDAD TRAIL could be located in Griffith Park, Los Angeles County.

As you may know Griffith Park is the largest civic park in the United States. It is the home of the newly refurbished Griffith Park Observatory, the famous Gene Autry Museum, one of the finest zoos in North America, and The Greek Theater .

Recently a devastating fire burned out 800 acres. Controversy among hikers, botanists, tree lovers and the city fathers has arisen as how to replant the area.

The Baghdad Trail could start at the popular Greek Theater, wind its way past the Observatory, and end up at the Gene Autry Museum.

The trail must be able to accommodate two golf cart widths and would have an accompanying dirt horse trail. Memorial benches would be placed appropriate places along the trail, each bench saluting one or more GI's that have fallen. Half way along the trail a suitable memorial to the 65,000 Iraqi Civilians that have died with many construction workers from all over the world.

Redwood Trees and Oak Trees could be planted. Redwood trees will grow here in Los Angeles . I have a beautiful one in my back yard.

Borrowing a symbol from WW 1, California red poppies would grow all along the trail. Remember the poem IN FLANDERS FIELDS THE POPPIES GROW. The British commonwealth still wear red poppies on November 1st, REMEMBRANCE DAY.

WHO LIKES THE IDEA:

GOVENER ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER OF CALIFORNIA

RICHARD PARSONS, CEO OF TIME WARNER

DOCTOR CHALMERS ARMSTRONG, THE MOTION PICTURE HEALTH AND WELFARE FOUNDADTION

TERRY DANNE, DIRECTOR OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY MASTER CHORALE

THERESA DANNE, VOCALIST AND MANAGER OF THE PHILHARMONIC CHOIR AND PREMIERE CHORALE DIRECTED BY TERRY DANNE

SINGALONG AMERICA

TONY CARDENAS, LA CITY COUNCILMAN 6TH DISTRICT

THE WARNER BROTHERS VOLINTEER CLUB

THE LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION

THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY

ROBERT GARBER, PRESIDENT OF PIERCE COLLEGE LOS ANGELES

DENNIS McCARTHY, COLUMIST LA DAILY NEWS

OPERATION GRATITUDE, WHO SEND CARE PACKAGES TO THE TROOPS

NORM PRINGLE, HALL OF FAME DJ, WW2 VET, AND FOUNDER OF THE MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT

E MAIL CRASHNORM@AOL.COM

The above LEST WE FORGET was the original announcement of the MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT. Since 2003 we have tried to keep you updated.

As of March 2007
These statistics are horrible.
The casualty rate had increased to:
- 3,257 GIs killed
- 24,000+ soldiers wounded
The following numbers very seldom reported in the media
- 65,160 Iraqi civilians killed
- God only knows how many Iraqi civilians injured.
- 389 construction and other workers killed
- 155 journalists and media personnel killed
_________________________________________________________________________
As the founder of this site I will admit I was for the war based on Colin Powell's statement to the United Nations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. Now like most American I think this war is a complete disaster for United States. I feel sorry for President Bush. He's got himself into a hell of a mess but manages to keep a stiff upper and continue his quest.

In my humble opinion,we should gradually move out and concentrate on Afghanistan.

My grassroots movement for the Memorial Garden Project has now $1800 in trust in the First Entertainment Credit Union Hollywood.

Please read my letters, to Time Warner, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, record producer Mike Curb, and now Westfield Shopping Center in Canoga Park, California. These letters are reprinted to show the process and ideas we are presenting to get the project rolling and make the public aware.

We continue sending out e-mails to the President his Cabinet, our Senators, our Congressman, our Mayor, our councilman, talk shows, newspapers, and TV and radio stations.
To be honest the response from those in high places is very discouraging, with three exceptions Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger of California, Richard Parsons, CEO of TIME WARNER, and Robert Garber, President of Pierce College in Woodland Hills California

You can help by contacting your representatives.

One of our methods to help publicize and raise funds is through music. Our new feature SONGS FOR SINGERS is on this website and You Tube.

We started our quest in November 2003 and we plan to continue developing the idea of THE MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT.

Thank you

Norm Pringle
Founder of the Grassroots MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT
Crashnorm@aol.com

EMAIL RECIEVED MAY 22nd 2007
subject :
SOLDIERS MEMORIAL IN NEED

As many of you know I rarely do a mass email on anything, however this is something that everyone can help to push through. By now word has spread that one of the soldiers killed in the May12, 2007 ambush was my nephew, Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya. I found this website while looking for a way to celebrate his life in a personal way. www.cybercloud.com is about the Memorial Garden Project, which is trying to get a garden going where a tree is planted for each soldier killed in combat, this is all american soldiers not just for this latest war, each will also bare a plaque which can say as much or as little as family members choose about the soldier that tree commorates. Since Danny and I had planted trees on Earth Day many times together I felt this was perfect, and contacted the founder to see how I could get one planted. He responded and told me sadly that as of yet they have not been able to actually get this off the ground due to support and red tape issues. He encouraged me to write letters to the L.A. Times and Valley News, to try an drum up support, and public intrest. This can get more of push if it goes nationally, the more people calling for it and the louder the cry the harder it is to ignore. So please this will cost you nothing, email your government officials, newspapers, and friends, any one you can think of to spread the word. With the loss of life and destruction to our planet in general during this current war what better way to suppoet life and respect what our fallen have given their lives for than improving our planet. Every tree planted in their names will work towards bettering our environment, and will be a lasting monument that will out live many generations, making sure our fallen are never forgotten. If any one would like to send a donation to the project I also have the address for that:

The Memorial Garden Project

The First Entertainment Credit Union

6735 Forest Lawn Drive

Hollywood, CA 91306

Time Warner has also spoken with Norm Pringle the founder and is considering lending it's support to this project as well. I don't the out come of that meeting at this time but am hoping it goes well. So please if you could take just a few moments to write to anyone you think can help I would greatly appreciate it as I'm sure other familys would as well. Just remember the old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" so squeak loudly, and never let our soldiers be forgotten.

Thank you,

Tamme

On May 18, 2007 I addressed the Time Warner shareholders meeting. Here is a transcript of my talk:

"Good afternoon fellow stock holders, and welcome to Hollywood and the famous Warner Brothers studio.

If you watch the American Idol you would know it's a big deal to come to Hollywood. The original Warner brothers thought that over 80 years ago.

Incidentally, how many in this theater have actually met any of the original Warner brothers?
Well, believe it or not I actually met the man himself, Jack Warner. To make a long story short, it was back in 1945. I was in the uniform of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The war had just ended and I hitchedhiked from Vancouver, Canada, to Hollywood.

A man delivering telegrams in Beverly Hills picked me up on Sunset Boulevard. Well never in my wildest dreams did I think I would meet and shake hands with Walter Pigeon, James Gleason, Mary Pickford, and Jack Warner all in one afternoon. Mary Pickford as you may remember was America's Sweetheart. . .she was born in Canada.

He came out of his dressing gown, shook my hand and congratulated me for being in the service. He then read his telegram. He went back into his mansion with a scowl on his face. The telegram I presumed was from Bette Davis or James Cagney.

Speaking of James Cagney here is a bit of Warner brothers trivia: his first Technicolor movie was Captains of the Clouds and it was s was only movie that I know of that recognized Canada's remarkable war effort. It was shot on location at several of the RCAF stations in Ontario. It was a great movie- Billy Bishop, the great air force ace from WW1, plays himself. I think its deserves a rerun on your HBO- that's Captains of the Clouds, produced by who else but Warner Brothers. . . how soon we forget.

(CEO Richard Parsons commented “You wouldn't be a Canadian would you Norm? [Laughter] )

The reason I bring this up is that the returning service men in WW2 were treated royally in Hollywood. You had the Hollywood Canteen. And the Stage Door Canteen. I still have vivid memories of Bette Davis serving me coffee at the Hollywood Canteen.

When I spoke at the last shareholder meeting I brought up the fact that I had started a campaign to honor our present American GIs, who as I speak are paying the supreme sacrifice in a foreign land.

At that meeting I made a pitch to Time Warner shareholders to help create a memorial garden similar to the creation at J. Paul Getty Museum. A wonderful spot that I hope you all visit while you are here in Los Angeles.

At that time 132 young men had died. President Bush made his now infamous speech that the mission had been accomplished.

Now as of as of today, May 18th 2007, these are the grim statistics:
3,401 GIs killed
25,245 soldiers wounded
And here is a statistic I have never seen in our 'free' press
65,929 Iraq civilians killed
god only knows how many Iraqi civilians injured.
389 construction and other workers killed
155 journalists and media personnel killed

I am not here to debate the war, right or wrong, but only to plead for media attention to the Memorial Garden Project.

When I brought up this subject last meeting I was hopeful that Time Warner might consider sponsoring the project.

As I recall Mr. Parsons your chairman was very receptive to the idea and gave me a check out of his personal account to encourage me to carry on. Thanks again Richard Parsons.
(Applause)

I also received a check from my former supervisor in the sound department. Other checks arrived- one from my doctor at the Motion Picture Hospital. Doctor Armstrong was so enthusiastic about the about the idea he gave me a book titled “The Man Who Planted Trees”
Other checks arrived from my neighbors and relatives. But I am afraid the momentum stopped there, mainly because the media will not touch the subject.
One media exception the Daily News and Dennis McCarthy the writer.
Now if I was if I was a Rosie O’Donnell, Donald Trump or Paris Hilton, the media including Fox and our own CNN would give it front page. Maybe BREAKING NEWS.

Not only the media ignores me but I have yet to hear from the President Bush down to our local mayor and councilmen and women. I have sent out emails till I am blue in the face to all the major talk shows, but no reply. I am not looking for 15 minutes of fame. I have already experienced that- I was a radio DJ for 15 years.

I wrote to another famous employee of this studio Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Governor did reply and gave it his blessing.

But I do have progress in finding great locations in and around the San Fernando Valley. The greatest location I believe was presented by Mother Nature a few days ago. I am about to contact the administration of Griffith Park. A fire recently cleared the area around the Griffith Park observatory leaving over 800 acres waiting to be replanted. I am writing a proposal today as the embers are dying.

One final thought I still would like Time Warner to get involved hopefully through the sponsorship or purchase of my long held website CYBERCLOUD.COM. It could be converted into a YOU TUBE type operation. I think it would be self-sustaining
plus a great vehicle for promoting your TV shows and Warner Brothers movies, HBO all under one umbrella. CYBERCLOUD.COM. is the website. The name CYBERCLOUD is easy to remember. Easier than YOU TUBE.

WW2 vets waited 50 years for a memorial in Washington.
The Korean memorial took 33 years.
The Vietnam memorial 7 years.

This project needs to go on the fast track.

We owe it to the families of those wonderful American GIs, so let's start now.

There Is a magic bullet that would give this a jump start. Actually two magic bullets: their names are Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. If they would record the theme song for the Memorial Garden Project my dream would be answered.

The theme is the song 'The American GI'.  Its melody is one of the oldest war songs, The Minstrel Boy. As Randy Jackson on the American idols annoying keeps saying keeps saying
Check it out.
So please check it out-its on WWW.CYBERCLOUD.COM

So that one last request this one to Warner Brother's Records
Tim and Faith. please consider recording The American GI.
All my royalties will go to the Memorial Garden Project.
The demo is on CYBERCLOUD.COM

Thank you so much for listening. Remember our servicemen and God bless this studio, it's
a great American treasure."

TRANSCRIPT OF THE TALK I GAVE AT THEATER ON THE HILL

Following is the talk I gave at the Theater on the Hill located at Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California. The program that evening featured the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale and Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by my old friend Terry Danne. Terry has also utilized his singers in my SINGALONG AMERICA PROGRAM that raises funds for the MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT
The show that evening was "THE PATRIOTISM OF BEETHOVEN" a beautiful program enjoyed by a seller audience. At intermission we gave away some of our Memorial Plants and Theresa Danne allowed me the opportunity to give the following update of the MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT
____________________________________________________________________________________

June 9th 2007
GOOD EVENING EVERYONE

ISN'T THIS A WONDERFUL PROGRAM? TERRY DANNE NEEDS AN EXTRA ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THOSE AMAZING ARRANGEMENTS.

MY NAME IS NORM PRINGLE FOUNDER OF THE MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT
HERE'S A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PROJECT:

MAY 1ST 2003 PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES MAJOR COMBAT OPERATIONS IN IRAQ HAD ENDED. WELL WE ALL KNOW THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN AND THE WAR CONTINUES 4 YEARS LATER

BY THEN IN 2003 139 GIs HAD LOST THEIR LIVES

AT THAT TIME I CONTACTED THIS COLLEGE AND SUGGESTED WE PLANT AN OAK TREE FOR EACH GI THAT HAD DIED

IT WAS VERY WELL RECEIVED AT THAT TIME BUT AS WE ALL KNOW THE CASUALTY RATE HAS NOW INCREASED TO 3400.

THAT WOULD BE TOO MANY TREES FOR THIS ACREAGE SO I CHANGED IT TO THE MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT

AND I SOUGHT OTHER LOCATIONS

THE AHMANSON RANCH OWNED BY THE STATE. HAS THIS VAST ACREAGE? IT WOULD BE IDEAL FOR A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN. SO I CONTACTED GOVERNOR SWARTZENNAGER. HE THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT IDEA AND WROTE ME AND ENCOURAGED ME TO CONTINUE THE PROJECT.

I ALSO CONTACTED THE POWERS THAT BE IN SEPULVEDA BASIN OWNED BY THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES.
NEXT TO THE JAPANESE GARDEN. THEY TOO HAVE SHOWN INTEREST.

BUT WHAT IS VERY ENCOURAGING IS THE LA RIVER PROJECT
THE RIVER HAS 32 MILES OF LAND WAITING FOR A GREEN THUMB, SO WE COULD PLANT THOUSANDS OF TREES.

BY THE WAY THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER HAS OFFERED ALL THE TREES WE NEED.

I HAVE CONTACTED THE LA RIVER PROJECT AND RECEIVED TWO ENCOURAGING E MAILS

THEN THERE IS GRIFFITH PARK. AFTER THE FIRE THEY HAVE OVER 800 ACRES TO BE REPLANTED. I HAVE WRITTEN THEM AND THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEN FOR THAT DISTRICT BUT AS YET RECEIVED NO REPLY
.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS GETTING THE WORD OUT TO THE PUBLIC
IN FOUR YEARS I HAVE HAD ONLY TWO MENTIONS IN THE PRESS. NONE ON TELEVISION OR RADIO BOTH IN THE DAILY NEWS. DENNIS MCCARTHY GAVE ME A VERY NICE WRITE UP.

I'VE CONTACTED ALL THE TALK SHOWS. THEY WON'T HELP AS THEY ARE MORE INTERESTED IN PARIS HILTON AND ROSE O'DONNELL

SPEAKING OF GRIFFITH PARK. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS CONTROVERSIAL SUGGESTION. THAT A YELLOW BRICK ROAD BE CREATED FROM THE GREEK THEATER WINDING PAST THE OBSERVATORY AND ENDING NEAR THE ZOO. AFTER ALL MOST OF THE SOLDIERS THAT HAVE DIED WERE IN THEIR TEENS OR EARLY TWENTIES JUST A FEW YEARS AWAY FROM CHILDHOOD. THOSE MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD ARE ALL THE PARENTS HAVE TO REMIND THEM OF THE PRECIOUS GIFT THEY BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD.

HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE PLANTS SALE TOMORROW

GOODNIGHT AND ENJOY THE REST OF THE SHOW