Between some of the monuments, we took in several of the memorials. It is one thing to talk about war and the lives sacrificed for our freedoms, but it was something else to view the massiveness of the loss. I was especially touched by the Vietnam memorial. I once read how you couldn't see the names on the wall without seeing yourself in the names, but standing there reading through the thousands of names and reflected in the names are me and my children and the great weight of their sacrifice is felt.
While visiting the Washington, we walked over to the Would War II memorial with it's beautiful fountain and circle of wreaths. I was struck by two things, first, how noisy this memorial is compared to the serene silence of the others. And second, the beautiful display of more than 4000 gold stars, each one representing 100 military service men and woman whose lives were lost during the war. Below the stars is a pool and a quote, "Here we mark the price of freedom."
We were surprised to find no public parking available for the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, so Ben dropped me off and waited with the kids because I really wanted to see this one. It is very open and not what I expected, but a stark reminder of what was lost that day. Each of the benches has a name and birth date associated with a life lost.
After visiting the Pentagon's memorial, we found this out-of-the-way memorial for the Air Force. It was a beautiful little park-like setting with some statutes, engravings and quotes.
Little Miss made a new friend, as they joined hands and walked around the memorial. Ben and I visited with the parents who were visiting from Montreal and said their daughter didn't speak much English. I asked if she spoke French, they said yes, we said we didn't know any French, my Darling Daughter says "Yes we do. Oui!" Everyone laughed and I was reminded how special it is that we are all so uniquely different.
Next Post: The Capital
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