Saturday, October 27, 2007

An Honorable Place.....


Washington is filled with monuments, memorials and museums.

The newest one in D.C. - honoring veterans of World War II - was dedicated in 2004.

A 4th Presidential memorial in the District (Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln) was dedicated in 1997 and features four "outdoor rooms" to represent the four terms of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. .

One sculpture, entitled "Breadline," is set during the Great Depression and guide books say tourists often step into the line to be part of the picture.

Others like to remove their hat and pose with the bronze gentleman seated at his radio, listening hopefully to an FDR "Fireside Chat."

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1995 and features a squad of 19 men on patrol, wrapped in wind-whipped ponchos in the harsh terrain. A highly-polished wall containing images of unidentifed participants reflects and doubles the stainless steel statues to 38, the exact parallel latitude number that divided the country at the beginning - and the end - of the Korean Conflict.

A smaller replica of the 1982 "WALL" portion of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
has toured around the U.S. bringing the poignant listing of the 58,256 killed/1,200 MIA to citizens everywhere.

The complete memorial includes the The Three Fighting Men, a sculpture of armed combat soldiers looking toward the wall.


The Marine Corps Memorial, dedicated in 1954, is often called the Iwo Jima Statue.

It is over in Arlington Cemetary, along with the Kennedy Eternal Flame and the new Air Force Memorial that was dedicated in 2006, styled after the "bomb burst" jet contrails left by The USAF Thunderbirds.

As an aside, the height of the Washington Monument(dedicated in 1884) is 550 feet and 5/8 inch. Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima is exactly 550 feet high.

Semper Fi.

(Click on pictures to enlarge for detail)

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2 Comments:

At Sun Oct 28, 09:59:00 PM , Blogger joared said...

Came here from Ronni Bennett's "Time Goes By" as was wondering what blog other than your own you reviewed, but here 'tis, I guess. I've already reviewed another Elderblog, or I'd review yours for that TGB post.

Enjoyed your D.C. photos as haven't had an opportunity to visit, especially, the WWII Veterans Memorial. Like the touch of humor you bring to some of your other posts.

 
At Wed Oct 31, 09:29:00 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like your pics friend !! :-)

 

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