First thing this morning was a visit to one of the most
solemn places in the US: Arlington
National Cemetery. There are over
300,000 military service members, plus some of their family, buried there. Because it was early, we had the place mostly
to ourselves for the first hour. It is
overwhelming to see hill after hill with the white headstones. So many people, often died in combat with sad
stories.
We were there for the changing of the guard at the Tomb of
the Unknown Solider. It is so serious
and solemn. A ritual done with such respect
and precision. It struck Patti as a
meditative process for these young men, focusing on those who served and died
and need to be treated with respect.
They don’t allow cars to drive around the grounds, so it is
just walking or tour buses. We were
happy to walk.
We went to Arlington House, the former home of Robert E. Lee
and his family, his wife being the great-granddaughter of Martha and George
Washington. The home had to be left
once the war was really going, and then eventually was confiscated and the
garden turned into the first of the cemetery plots for the National Cemetery. All that we knew about Lee filled in the
blanks as we toured the house.
The grave site for John F. Kennedy was powerful, especially
for Dick, who was 16 when Kennedy was killed
The wave of deep emotion that came over Dick was so strong, even after
all of these years. That assassination
was so sad for the country. Buried next to him was Jackie Kennedy Onassis. And nearby were Robert and then Ted
Kennedy. That family gave so much for
our country.
There were other powerful memorials: for The Challenger and
Columbia Space Shuttle crews, for those killed trying to rescue those hostages
in Iran. There were famous names and
ones known only to their families, and many unknown.
We left Arlington and drove close by to the Marine Memorial,
also known as the Iwo Jima statute. Again,
powerful images. One we were familiar with, but seeing something in person is
never the same as a photo or on TV.
We then drove down to the Mall. Traffic and parking were
terrible, even on a Sunday morning, but we finally found a parking spot. We saw many of the familiar monuments that we like to see every time we visit the city. Our biggest goal was to visit several or the
newer memorials that we had not yet seen.
We were successful.
First we saw the FDR memorial. This was massive and very moving, having
symbols and quotation for each of his 4 terms in office. One of the most powerful was the simple
statue of him sitting in his wheelchair at the beginning. A powerful supportive image to all of those
who use wheelchairs everywhere.
There was also some great images from the Depression
including several men standing in a breadline, an elder farm couple, and a man
listening to his radio presumably to a
fireside chat with the president.
There was also a really nice statute of Eleanor. We were highly impressed.
The other new memorial that we loved was that of Martian Luther
King Jr. This had a carving of King looking
over the water, plus many of his quotations throughout his lifetime. We were struck that King would have been
delighted at what an integrated crowd was gathering to celebrate his vision,
lots of African-Americans, but lots of all different races and cultures. And many people asking others to take their
photos, which we were glad to help out.
Very, very nice.
We were less thrilled with the WWII Memorial. This had a pillar for each of the states,
plus each of the American territories, all with a wreath. There were some nice relief panels with
scenes from the war and a couple of quotes, but it was a hard memorial to
connect with.
The Korean War Memorial was striking as you approached
it. 19 soldiers seeming to be wadding
through the bushes in full gear. There
was a black wall, similar to the Viet Nam Memorial with engravings of faces of
those who served. Patti’s dad was in
the Navy during the Korean conflict.
This memorial seemed to capture some of the humanity of those who
served.
The Lincoln Memorial is one we each visit whenever we are in
Washington, and with our Civil War studies we needed to be there. It was the most crowded, yet also moving to
be there. We each took the time to read
his full second inaugural address, knowing that the Civil War was nearing an
end at that point, but had been so devastating. It
ends with the quote about “with malice toward none. With charity towards all.”
The Viet Nam Memorial continues to be a place that draws
people to come and touch the wall and look for names of loved ones. They have a guy there on a ladder who could help
you do a rubbing of your loved one’s name.
So much sad loss. The additional statutes
of the men who served and the women who served finish out this powerful
remembrance.
So much more we would love to see, but time to move an.
We spent about an hour at The National Cathedral, the sixth
largest cathedral in the world. It is Gothic
and massive, with gargoyles and the whole bit.
The stain glass windows were wonderful.
They also were displaying some of the panels of the AIDS Quilt in honor
of its 25 anniversary. So nice to see
these names of those who died of AIDS also memorialized.
The last stop of the day was to the home of Clara Barton,
Civil War nurse and the founder of The American Red Cross. She was an amazing humanitarian, very brave
and a huge thinker. When she got the
chance to have a free home built for her, she chose basically a large barn
where she could headquarter the Red Cross and store all kinds of relief
items. She also was the person who
started the first aid training process and first aid kits. It was very fun that the National Park Service
does great interpretation for her home and about her life. She was quite a feminist and a Unitarian. Terrific to learn more about this amazing
woman.
Then on to our next hotel for dinner and early to bed.
Today we walked somewhere around 9 or 10 miles.
Tired, but happy to be able to do this.
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