Here is the Washington Monument. And no, I had no desire to go to the top. What the San Jacinto Monument in Houston didn't teach me, St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna did. I have no intentions of going to the top of anything really high ever again!
I love this view of the Monument taken down the mall from the Lincoln Memorial. That's the Capitol directly behind the Monument.
And here is the Lincoln Memorial, that deserved tribute to a great American president.
So true ...
The Gettysburg Address - the greatest speech ever written
I've seen this picture in countless movies and TV shows - I wanted to sit there, too.
There are few monuments to the soldiers who fought in World War I. Here is one for the Army's Second Division that fought in France.
American deaths totaled 116,516 in World War I.
It's hard to believe that there wasn't a memorial for World War II (setting aside the flag-raising at Iwo Jima). This is the newest memorial in D.C.
World War II cost 405,399 Americans their lives.
There are two parts at the memorial, commemorating the Pacific and Atlantic theaters. I focused on the Atlantic theater because that's where my family members served.
This next group of pictures states America's aim in the war - and we did it!
This struck close to my heart because the men in our family served in the Army Air Corps.
I enjoyed looking at the bronze friezes depicting various aspects of the air war.
My father, Eric, flew a B-17 on bombing raids in Europe. His plane was shot down over Berlin and crash-landed in Sweden where he was interned. He planned to stay in the Air Force but was killed in a training accident after the war when I was a baby.
My stepfather, Ben, the man who so lovingly raised me, flew a C-47 in Europe. He was the 5th plane in the D-Day invasion towing British gliders. He also carried parachutists and supplies during the Battle of the Bulge and other operations.
Bob's father, Earl, also flew a C-47 in Europe. He didn't get over there until late in the war, but he flew gas supplies to Gen. Patton as that notable stormed across France and Germany. He also flew out wounded and American POWs after the war.
This woman who commanded the WACS was from Houston.
General Eisenhower's message to the troops before D-Day
The aim of America in the war - from President Franklin Roosevelt
The fountain at the World War II Memorial
Each state is commemorated at the Memorial. Here is the one representing Texas.
The Vietnam War was the war of my generation. I remember "watching the war" on the TV news every day. I wanted to see the Wall, the unusual memorial to the war. A short walk from the Lincoln Memorial, the 493-foot-long Wall is unobtrusive but so powerful.
The quiet approach doesn't prepare you for the Wall's impact.
The sheer number of names is staggering. 58,220 Americans were killed in the war.
I found the name of a young man I knew well.
According to Kate, no trip to the capital is complete without a D.C. Dog. I have to say it was delicious! Note the mustard spill on the jacket - typical.
This is my last blog post for the year. Hope you all have a happy holiday season. I'll be back posting again in the new year from Austria!
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