Emotional. There are hundreds of words that I could use to describe the wide range of what we all experienced today, but after a couple of hours of relaxing (finally), a whole lot of reflecting, and a few Bud Lights (good beer is hard to come by, can't find a Busch Light anywhere!), emotional is the word that springs to mind.
After an exhausting day yesterday and very little sleep last night, we jumped right into it this morning. We loaded our 30 veterans onto the bus and headed into town to visit the sights we came to see.
We spent only a few minutes at the Marine Corps Memorial (a wonderful sight to see), after which we headed to the WWII Memorial. Our true reason for making this trip.
What a breathtaking sight!!! When we finally got unloaded (our youngest veteran is in his 80's so getting on & off the bus & unloading all of the necessary wheelchairs tends to take awhile), we started our tour of the memorial. The actual structure is both beautiful and heartbreaking. The place was filled with tourists of all ages and from the moment we arrived, there were strangers clapping, saluting, and thanking our veterans (who are quite recognizeable in their matching "WWII Veteran" hats & jackets). These people made way for our crew as we walked around learning the details of the memorial.
Many of the veterans broke into tears. Many of them stared in awe. Many of them simply retreated into themselves as they reflected upon the past.
It was a very emotional couple of hours for everybody involved. So very many people were coming up to the veterans to shake their hands and tell them thank you. So many people would approach to show their gratitude and tell us a story of their father, uncle, brother, friend, who served in the war. There were very few who did so with a dry eye. I heard teachers telling their field trips full of elementary students that they need to show as much respect as possible to the men & women in our group because they are the reason that the kids are free today. I truly wish that I felt more of those kids understood. I dont even know that I completely understood until this.
After a rather interesting lunch at McDonalds (laugh all you want, but you try taking food orders from 30 people in their 80's & 90's), we headed back out to see the Korean War Memorial & the Vietnam Wall. They are both beautiful monuments in their own rights, but the Wall is what hit me the hardest. Watching a grown man with tears in his eyes rub pencil to paper over the etched name of a loved one who was killed in the war........DAMN! Just like everybody else, I know the little details of the Vietnam war. I have heard (on extremely rare occassion) my own dad talk about it. I know all about the number of names and why they are there, who made it, how much it cost, why its there. But until I saw it. Until I touched it. Until I read the a note left under the very first row of names. I didn't GET it. As I pushed one of our veterans along in his wheelchair, stopping occassionally to read a note or take a picture, I listened to him tell the story of his nephew who was killed in Vietnam. Thats when I started to think about Dad & what he must have experienced. It all hit me at that moment. All of these names, weren't just names. These were lives lost. These were sacrifices made.
Being fairly well known for my lack of tears, the ability to "not cry" has always been a strong point of mine. Today, I looked at the thousands of names on that wall and I cried. I cried for the families who lost their loved ones. I cried for the veterans who watched their brothers killed. I cried for the girl who left the note expressing her pride for her grandfather who served in the war. I cried for my Dad, who will forever have the visions and memories of that horrible time. I cried for Bubba, back from the war in Iraq, experiencing so many of the same awful acts of violence. And then I cried for myself and the guilt I was feeling. I look at these thousands of names on this unbelievable list, and the first thought in my selfish head is "Thank goodess nobody in my family is on there. Thank goodness my baby brother's name wont be getting added to a future memorial."
Daddy doesn't talk about the war much so when he does, we always listen intently. One of my most cherished moments with my father was had while he talked to me about a war memory. It was almost ten years ago, that we had this conversation, but to this day, I remember every single word and after today, I believe I will always remember that few minutes with him.
After the Wall, we took a little ride over Arlington. What a beautiful, peaceful, sad place. Acres upon acres of perfectly aligned stones marked with the names of those who served our country. One could not ask for a better resting place. Even with all of the people walking around & riding the tour trollies, it was a peaceful and serene place. We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. Damion knew when to talk and tell a story and when to stay silent and let everybody just get lost in their own thoughts. We were fortunate enough to be able to see the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown. When we got to the top of the hill to watch (a task in itself) there wasnt a spot available for us to view the ceremony. Thats when a guard noticed our veterans and made some young students move over making way for us. He opened up a chained off area closest to the Tomb and let us in to watch. The vets were shocked at the amount of respect they were being shown everywhere we went and they were very thankful to be able to get that close to the ceremony. The precision of the soldiers involved is astounding! We watched in complete silence as they went through their process without flaw. As we were standing with our hands over our hearts, I felt somebody behind me grab my arm. It was one of my veterans and he was sobbing. He could barely stand up for all his tears and he just kept whispering his thanks to me for all that we had allowed them to come see. I can't get over these people thanking me! I haven't done ANYTHING compared to what they have done for us! This is the very least that we can do for them to show our gratitude.
After Arlington, we hit the American Buffet for dinner and made our way back to the hotel. Everybody is completely beat! It was a long and emotional day, that combined with walking what seemed like miles, has left everybody pretty well drained. Most people headed straight for their rooms and to bed. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day.
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