Monuments

As we walked around the city, we stopped to see some of the monuments.

"In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, 

the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever"

It's always an awesome experience to stand in front of this gigantic statue of Abraham Lincoln.  But a new change this year was the expansion of the memorial

This project will create 15,000 square feet of exhibit space that tells a more complete story of the Lincoln Memorial and provide a look at the structure's foundations in the cavernous area known as the undercroft.  

The undercroft of the Lincoln Memorial is a tall grid of concrete columns surrounded by large expanses of open space.  Floor-to-ceiling glass walls will provide a view of the undercroft, and a theater presentation will project images of historic events onto the foundations.  The project is scheduled to be completed in July, 2026.

It is a little different entering the memorial during construction.

It always takes my breath away to see the view from the top.

At the Korean War Veterans Memorial, "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."

From 1950 to 1953 the United States joined with United Nations forces in Korea to take a stand against what was deemed a threat to democratic nations worldwide.  At war's end, a million and a half American veterans returned to a peacetime world of families, homes, and jobs - and to a country reluctant to view the Korean War as something to memorialize.  But to the men and women who served, the Korean War could never be a forgotten war.

The passing of four decades had brought a new perspective to the war and its aftermath.  The time had come, in the eyes of the nation, to set aside a place of remembrance for the people who served in this hard-fought war half a world away.  The Korean War Veterans Memorial honors those Americans who worked and fought under the most trying of circumstances, and those who gave their lives.

Another war half a world away and one I can remember clearly is the Vietnam War.  Thankfully, the U.S draft was suspended just months before Ron graduated from high school but for some of our older classmates, they found themselves in Southeast Asia.  

The Vietnam Veterans memorial includes the Three Servicemen statue.  Young, armed, and wearing jungle combat gear, The Three Servicemen's gazes are fixed on the wall.  Veterans have stated that while there are distinguishing characteristics for each man, they still feel like they could be any soldier.

The central element of the memorial is the shiny black granite wall in a wide V shape, with one "arm" directed toward the Lincoln Memorial and the other toward the Washington Monument.  The faces of visitors are reflected in the walls bearing the etched names of the 58,318 men and women who died in combat or are listed as missing in action.

Those declared dead are marked by a diamond; those MIA are marked by a cross.  If the person currently marked as MIA returns alive, a circle is placed around the cross.  If his/her remains are identified, a diamond is superimposed over the cross.

The names of those killed first (in 1959) start at the highest point of the wall, on the right arm, and continue toward the shorter end.  The names resume on the far, short end of the left arm, continuing back toward the junction of the two walls.  This way the first deaths and the last deaths (May 15, 1975) meet in the middle.  Directories are placed near the wall for visitors to look up names.

The wall has long been a gathering place for those affected by the war, those who lost a loved one fighting the war, and for veterans looking for comfort and fellowship.  Many who visit leave behind items in memoriam to those who have served.  The military dog tags, flowers, war medals, photographs, and even favorite toys left behind aid the healing process.  Each night, the National Park Service collects the objects; decades later, nearly 400,000 items are housed in a massive warehouse.

Visitors can find the name of a loved one and often use paper and charcoal to make a rubbing of the etching in The Wall's surface.  For those who cannot make it in person to The Wall, you can submit a request and one of the volunteers will do the rubbing and send it to the address listed on the request.  The service is provided free of charge thanks to the many supporters of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

On to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

The memorial honors Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice.  A prominent leader in the modern civil rights movement, Dr. King was a tireless advocate for racial equality, working class, and the oppressed around the world.

We were running on empty so we just viewed the Jefferson Memorial from across the water.

One of the memorials we hadn't really visited was the World War II Memorial.  This memorial honors the service of 16 million members of the Armed Forces of the United States, the support of millions on the home front, and the ultimate sacrifice of 405,399 Americans.  On May 29, 2004, a four-day "grand reunion" of veterans on the National Mall culminated in the dedication of this tribute to the legacy of "The Greatest Generation."

Twenty four bronze panels flank the ceremonial entrance.  To many, these panels stir memories as they tell the story of America's experience in the war.  Granite columns representing each U.S. state and territory at the time of the war ring an impressive pool with water shooting high into the air.  A wall of 4,048 gold stars reminds all of the sacrifice made by over 400,000 Americans to make that victory possible.

Our dads both served, although my dad was young enough that he avoided active duty and served in Europe in 1946.  Ron's dad served on Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands.  I wanted to memorialize their service by taking pictures of their home states.

Gordon Floyd Levy, 1927-2005

Fresno, California

Herman Paul Ast, Jr., 1921-1996

Winnemucca, Nevada

On our way out of the city, we made one more stop.

Congressional Cemetery has been a final resting place for Washingtonians for over 200 years.  In 1790 when the 10 mile square along the Potomac River was chosen for a new federal District, no provision for burial grounds was made on any of the various city maps.  In 1798, the commissioners of Washington set aside two squares on the borders of the city - one meant to be the eastern burial ground and one the western.  However, the eastern square was prone to flooding and was not a good choice for a cemetery.  The residents of the eastern section of the city formed an association to secure a more suitable location.  Most of the members of the association were also members of the Christ Church, Washington Parish vestry.

Today the cemetery is a 35-acre historic, yet active, burial ground located on Capitol Hill.  Initially known as the Washington Parish Burial Ground, it became the first cemetery of national memory, as Congress bought sites, buried noted civil servants and financed the infrastructure.  The cemetery also features a new section called the Kingdom of Animals.  The first and only of its kind in Washington D.C., this section is designated specifically for pets' cremated remains.

The main reason for our visit was, of course, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Elbridge Gerry was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician and diploma.  He was nominated by the Democratic-Republican party and elected as vice president in the 1812 election with James Madison.  Advanced in age and in poor health, Gerry served 21 months of his term before dying in office.  Gerry is the only signatory of the Declaration of Independence to be buried in Washington D.C.  The political practice of gerrymandering is named after him.

Elected to the Second Continental Congress, Gerry signed both the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation.  He was one of three men who attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, but refused to sign the Constitution because originally it did not include a Bill of Rights.  After its ratification, he was elected to the inaugural United States Congress, where he was actively involved in the drafting and passage of the Bill of Rights as an advocate of individual and state liberties.

We found a few other notable residents.

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches.  One of Sousa's best-known marches is The Stars and Stripes Forever, 

 

John Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) was an American law-enforcement administrator who served as the final Director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  President Calvin Coolidge first appointed Hoover as the director of the BOI, the predecessor to the FBI, in 1924.  After 11 years in the post, Hoover became instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained as director for an additional 37 years until his death in 1972 - serving a total of 48 years leading both the BOI and the FBI and under eight presidents.

Born in Washington, D.C. three blocks behind the Capitol in the Seward Square neighborhood, his family had been civil servants for generations and his father served in this capacity with the Coast Guard.

There's a nice bench outside the fence - I was afraid if I sat down I would never get up.

One of the most interesting memorials was that of Mathew Brady, an American photographer.  He is known as one of the earliest and most famous photographers in American history and best known for his scenes of the Civil War.  He photographed U.S. presidents John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Millard Fillmore, and Martin Van Buren, as well as other public figures.

When the Civil War began, Brady's use of a mobile studio and darkroom enabled thousands of vivid battlefield photographs to bring home the reality of war to the public.  He also photographed generals and politicians on both sides of the conflict, though most of these were taken by his assistants rather than by Brady himself.

After the Civil War ended, these pictures went out of fashion, and the government did not purchase the master copies as he had anticipated.  Brady's fortunes declined sharply, and he died in debt.

Part of the display showed Anna Murray Douglass, the first wife of Frederick Douglass.  Thankfully we took a photo because it is the only photo we have of Brady's headstone, which you can see to the left of the display.

There were so many notables but we'd had enough.  The cemetery is so large that at one point we met a woman who was searching for her two sons (who loses their kids in a cemetery?) and shortly thereafter we met the sons who were searching for their mother.  We made the reunion happen - a good way to end the day.