In Memory

When one visits Washington D.C. you have to visit the war memorials. The Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery are all well known to Americans, but if you have not been there, if you have not seen the mementos left behind, if you have no seen the old men and women crying - you really do not know the feeling of actually being there.

The first thing you see as you approach the Vietnam Wall is a statue of three young men. It reminds us that those soldiers who went to Vietnam were all young men, some were even boys when they left home. But not all of them came home.

Walking along the wall is truly humbling. Looking at what is left behind, flowers, wreaths, flags, uniforms, candles, pictures - so many memories of those who did not come home. The above photo cannot even do justice for the shear size or length of the wall, covered in so many names.

The last part of the Vietnam War memorial is the Nurse. This had a very deep impact on me. Three young women stand in a group, one nurse looks up at the sky, in what I can only think would be an air raid, another looks after a wounded soldier. The final is looking at a helmet laying in her lap, the helmet of some young solider who she could not save, of one boy who would never go home.

The Korean War memorial is just as moving. Looking at the men, walking through the jungle, seeing the detail of every face, each one different from the next, is truly hard to describe unless you have been to the memorial. And to see the faces carved on the wall, to be able to touch them, to feel they are looking back at you - there are really no words to describe.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a place of beauty and peace. It reminds us that so many people served their country, and so many gave their lives, and we do not know their names.

Arlington Cemetery is nothing less than awe inspiring. Row upon row of graves, a reminder that so many gave their lives. It is humbling.