Vietnam War Memorial

A contest was advertised to design a memorial for the Vietnam War.  The prize was $50,000.  One thousand four hundred and twenty-one designs were submitted.  The designs were displayed at Andrews Air Force Base.  A jury of eight architects and sculptors perused the designs, which had no names on them, just numbers.  They narrowed the number down to 232, then 39.  The jury selected entry number 1026.

The winning design belonged to Maya Lin, a 21 year old Yale University student from Athens, Ohio.  While her design was well-received by all of the jury members, she was not well-received by all Americans as she was of Asian descent.  It had only been six years since the Fall of Saigon and the memories of the war were too fresh for some Americans.  They wanted to paint all Asians with the same brush.

Maya Lin courtesy www.dispatch.com.

Construction on the memorial began in early 1982.  The design called for two black granite walls, each with 72 panels.  On the panels would be engraved the names of 58,195 American servicemen either killed in action or missing in action.  A walkway was added to provide visitors the opportunity to walk up and down the wall and view all of the names.

Controversy brewed over Maya Lin's unorthodox war memorial.  As a compromise, a statue was added called "The Three Soldiers" to complement the wall in 1984.

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Sadly, for those veterans who survived the Vietnam War, many did not receive a warm welcome home from their fellow Americans:  amputees and shell-shocked veterans were ignored; servicemen were spit on or called "baby killers".  Some even tried to remove the Vietnam War from the public's memory.  One lady on wiki.answers.com said that when she visited Oregon, she toured a museum which had a display for every American conflict except the Vietnam War.

Time has healed some of the wounds.  As we walked along the wall this past week, visitors were showing a quiet respect for the veterans.  The occasional person stopped to lay a flag or a flower on the walkway.

Architect Maya Lin has gone on to do more great things:  she received her doctorate in 1986; she designed the civil rights memorial in Montgomery, Alabama in 1989; and she recently opened the Maya Lin Studio in New York City.  And to think that it all started with a contest.

Arlington National Cemetery

Marble tombstones courtesy media.cleveland.com.

Our trolley wound its way up and down the rolling hills of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.  We passed row after row of evenly placed Vermont and Georgia marble tombstones commemorating the deaths of over 400,000 American servicemen.  Trees dotted the neatly manicured grass.  Gardens bloomed with brilliant flowers.  A gentle breeze wafted through the trolley, a much needed respite from the beating sun.

View of Washington DC from Arlington Cemetery courtesy cdn2.virtualtourist.com.

Our first stop was President John F. Kennedy's tomb, marked by an eternal flame.  We exited the trolley to take photographs.  A large plaque commemorated the President and his wife Jacqueline.  Two smaller plaques marked the graves of the two children that predeceased them, a stillborn girl in 1956, and Patrick, who lived only two days, in 1963.  After putting away our cameras, we noticed the breathtaking view of the Capitol Building and Washington DC in all its splendour below us.  Our trolley tour guide had told us that President Kennedy had seen that same view when he had visited Arlington Cemetery in the spring of 1963. His words were:  "I could stay here forever."  His request was granted far too soon.

Jacqueline Kennedy placing flowers at her husband's grave after his re-internment in March 1967 courtesy jfklibrary.org.

We were enjoying the view so much that we did not want to get back on the trolley.  We decided instead to follow a group of people who looked like they knew where they were going.  Soon we saw a sign marked "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier".  We followed more signs with the same name.  Up the hill we went.  We followed a cement path which seemed like it might go on forever.  Finally, we came to our destination.

An amphitheatre, which resembled the Colosseum when it was new, sat among gardens and shrubs.  We found our way around the amphitheatre until a large tomb appeared made of marble.  A guard marched back and forth, back and forth, taking 21 steps, changing the position of his rifle, turning, and taking 21 steps again.  Despite the heat of the day, he somehow managed to look clean and neat.  We squinted in the sun and watched two other guards, a sergeant and a private, march out to the tomb.  In a ceremony which took several minutes, they performed "the changing of the guard".  Once the new guard was installed, the other two guards brought out a wreath to be laid.  A bugler appeared and played TAPS.  Then the crowd dispersed, including people from neighbouring states who climbed back in their vehicles and headed home.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier courtesy dc.about.com. 

We headed to a bench hoping to catch the next trolley.  After a few minutes, though, we realized it was not a trolley stop.  While waiting I did have a chance to get another magnificent view of the Capitol Building.

We finally found the trolley stop, climbed on board and headed back.  We passed a mansion with giant pillars on the top of a hill.  Was this Washington's house?  No, it was General Robert E. Lee's house.  Lee was married to Martha Custis Washington, the great-granddaughter of George Washington.  Arlington House sat on a large, heavily wooded piece of property.  After the Civil War, in order to put General Lee in his place, the Union confiscated his estate.  This way, Lee would never be able to return home (and he never did). Now the building serves as a museum.

Union troops occupy Arlington Heights during the Civil War courtesy campmartintravels.blogspot.ca.

Our trolley wound its way down the hill, back to the main building.  I purchased a picture book about Arlington Cemetery with the drawing of an American soldier on the front cover.  Not just anyone gets into Arlington.  You have to earn your way in. Our American tour guide told us that her son, who has completed five tours of duty overseas, has just earned his right to be buried at Arlington.  It was an honour to see the graves of these real life heroes.  May they rest in peace.

A Pile of Books, A Pile of Rocks & A Pile of Shoes

A pile of books sits in a glass case:  Das Kapital by Karl Marx, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Albert Einstein's works.  These are just some of the thousands of books that were burned on a Berlin street back in 1933, an early sign that Hitler would not tolerate any views but his own.  Some of the greatest thinkers came out of that era, people that would go on to help build the atom bomb and to put the first man on the moon.  But they didn't fit in to Hitler's agenda.  Freedom of thought would not be tolerated. Propaganda would rule for the next twelve years.

Berlin Book Burning circa 1933 courtesy upload.wikimedia.org.

A pile of rocks sits on display, each one perfectly cut in a cube.  Above them hangs a photograph of emaciated humans lugging the rocks up and down a cliff.  Some workers, too weak to move another inch, fall down.  They are punished for their disobedience.  The same scene repeats itself day after day, week after week, month after month.

upload.wikimedia.org

A pile of shoes sits in another case, turned green from years of exposure to the elements.  A rubber smell permeates the air.  Despair permeates the soul.  These are the shoes of thousands of Jews who worked at Majdanek, a Nazi concentration camp.  Despite their number, these shoes are just a drop in the bucket.  A map shows us that Majdanek was one of hundreds of Nazi interment camps, work camps and death camps by running by the end of World War II.  Hitler took their ideas, their belongings and their lives.  But he could not take their spirits.

www.jewishjournal.com

Later, we walked past a small wooden boat, one of dozens used to transport Jews across the water from Denmark to Sweden during World War II.  Thanks to this evacuation, nine out of ten Danish Jews survived the war.  But sadly, Poland's 3 million Jews were reduced to 45,000 by the Holocaust.  By war's end, two thirds of Europe's Jews had been murdered.

Later, as we walked down Washington's 12th Avenue to dinner at the Elephant and the Castle, we ran into a women from our tour group.  We mentioned we had just visited the Holocaust Museum.  She said that she would not visit it because she did not want to see "man's inhumanity to man".  I thought to myself that she had hit the nail on the head with that statement.  Although the Holocaust happened decades ago, it could happen again -- with different players.  Let us never forget.

Betsy Ross' Flag, Archie Bunker's Chair & Julia Child's Kitchen

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Any trip to Washington D.C. needs to include a visit to the Smithsonian Institution.  One of the five museums under its umbrella is the American Museum of History, a three-floor building filled with American memorabilia and keepsakes.  An elderly lady, who looked older than the building itself, gave us a map and pointed out some of the exhibits.  With our map in hand, my mom, my sister and I started exploring.

Our first stop was the Little Golden Books Exhibit.  picture book covers lined the wall, the most famous being The Poky Little Puppy.  Other titles include:  Three Little Kittens, The Little Red Hen and Nurse Nancy.  I was fascinated with the layouts of original manuscripts, being a picture book writer myself.  Little Golden Books, which appeared during the Second World War, did more to advance the cause of reading than any other children's book series.

images.celebrateexpress.com

On to the next exhibit, a timeline of American history.  It was filled with facts and figures.  One highlight was Betsy Ross' flag with thirteen stars, one for each of the Thirteen Colonies -- the first Star Spangled Banner.

www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Another highlight was Archie Bunker's chair from the 1970's T.V. series All in the Family.  It looked a little the worse for wear.

media.npr.org

Next we visited the African American history section.  Fours stools sat at a lunch counter, the one that hailed from Greensboro, North Carolina,  This is the counter where four young blacks waited for an order of donuts and coffee which never came.  I purchased a book from Niagara Falls New York recently called How Four Men Stood Up By Sitting Down.  What a powerful story!

carolinahistory.web.unc.edu

On the third floor we visited with the American Presidents.  We photographed Abraham Lincoln's top hat and Ulysses S. Grant's carriage in which he rode to the White House on the day of his Inauguration.

Mom enjoyed the exhibit of the First Ladies' gowns.  We photographed Mary Todd Lincoln's violet gown, Laura Bushes dazzling red dress and Michelle Obama's white creation which she danced in at the 2009 Inaugural Ball.

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Then it was on to the Food Section.  There we got to feast our eyes on Julia Child's Kitchen from Cambridge, Massachusetts, made famous in the 2009 movie Julie & Julia.  Julie Powell was a New York City clerk working on behalf of the 9/11 victims' families.  Looking for an outlet for her job stress, she decided to challenge herself to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year and blog about the experience.  She developed a huge following, secured a book deal and a movie to boot.  The last scene of the movie shows Julie Powell and her husband visiting the Smithsonian to view Julia Child's Kitchen.  For more information see my blog posts "Julie & Julia" (August 14, 2011) and "Bon Appetit!" (August 15, 2011).

media.washingtonpost.com

We said goodbye to Julia and headed downstairs to the gigantic bookstore where I picked out a Washington D.C. coffee table book and Mom chose a book about the American Presidents.  I love museums!

The Jefferson Memorial

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"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

A crowd of 5000 gathered on a beautiful Spring day at the south side of the Potomac River's Tidal Basin.  Millions more listened on their cathedral-like radios from home.  The occasion was Thomas Jefferson's 200th birthday, marked by the unveiling of the Jefferson Memorial.  President Roosevelt, long a fan of President Jefferson, declared:  "Today in the midst of a great war for freedom, we dedicate a shrine to freedom."

The memorial, which was Roosevelt's idea, had been conceived seven years before.  After clearing the land of cherry and elm trees, builders got straight to work.  John Russell Pope was the architect chosen for the memorial.  Based on the Pantheon in Rome, the structure had 54 Ionic columns and was made of Georgia marble and limestone.

A contest was held to determine a sculptor for Jefferson's statue:  out of 101 entries, the successful one belonged to Rudolph Evans.  The 19-foot statue showed Jefferson standing in his waistcoat, knee breeches and fur-collared coat.  On the dedication day, the statue was made of plaster; the bronze version would not be cast until after the Second World War due to metal shortages.

Inside the memorial walls are four quotation blocks:  an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, drafted in part by the third President; an excerpt from a Religious Freedom bill; and two other excerpts.  All four quotes reflect causes near and dear to Jefferson's heart.  

Jefferson pursued many interests and occupations.  Not just a President, he was also a political philosopher, diplomat, inventor, landowner, architect, musician, book collector, scientist and horticulturalist.  President John F. Kennedy, once in a room full of scholars, said that their combined minds would still not equal that of Jefferson.

Three and a half million tourists visited the Jefferson Memorial in 2005.  It is a popular memorial representing a popular president.

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The Lincoln Memorial

“In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”

Lincoln's statue, sculpted by Daniel Chester French, courtesy upload.wikimedia.org.

It is the site of a great orator's statue, President Abraham Lincoln.  It is also the site of a great orator's speech, "I Have a Dream", by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It is the site of 6 million visitors each year.

View from steps of Lincoln Memorial, I Have a Dream Speech, courtesy upload.wikimedia.org.

On May 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated.  Presiding over the events was President Warren G. Harding.  He stood between the 36 Doric columns, one for each state of the Union back in 1865, and delivered his speech.  Known for his speaking ability, he commented on how Lincoln:  "rose to colossal statue in a day of imperiled union". 

Dedication of Lincoln Memorial courtesy upload.wikimedia.org.

A special guest was in the audience, Robert Todd Lincoln, the slain President's only surviving son.  He received a standing ovation when he reached his seat.  During the eight year construction of his father's memorial, Robert would often request that his driver take him past Potomac Park to view the building's progress.  Now he was able to view the fruits of that labour.  

Nothing was left to chance in Henry Bacon's design of the memorial.  Guests at the dedication could look up to the "attic" of the building where there were inscribed 48 names, one for each of the 48 states in the Union in 1922.   

Friezes courtesy marblemillsite.files.wordpress.com.

If guests were to climb its 58 steps and look inside, they would have seen Lincoln's 19-foot form sitting in a chair, dressed in his office suit and bow tie, gazing out over the Reflecting Pool.  On its interior walls, they would have seen the text of two famous speeches:  Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address.

Excerpt from the Gettsburg Address courtesy cdn.theatlantic.com.

After the ceremony, the crowd would have slowly dispersed as they made their way back down the 58 steps, treated to a beautiful view of the Washington Monument.  It is an magnificent memorial to a magnificent man.

Girth, Golf & Grilled Steaks

White House courtesy upload.wikimedia.org.

We walked down Pennsylvania Avenue, strangely devoid of traffic.  The closer we got to our destination, the louder the voices grew.  A man with a megaphone shouted:  "No, no, hypocrisy!"  The crowd echoed:  "No, no, hypocrisy!"  The leader added:  "Yes, yes, democracy!" The crowd responded:  'Yes, yes, democracy!"  It is a scene that is repeated almost every day on Pennsylvania Avenue.  While the players change, the message is the same. 

Suffragettes protesting courtesy corsetsandcutlasses.wordpress.com.

As the crowd continued to shout, we turned our attention to the black fence, the green expanse of lawn, the trees, shrubs and flowers, and the White House.  So this is it.  This is the house where President Obama lives.  Our tour guide Natasha informed us that the President was indeed in the Oval Office judging by the position of the American flag flying out front.  We watched the guard stand straight as an arrow outside of the Oval Office.

We Canadian tourists pulled out our cameras and delicately tried to position them between the bars of the fence and snap a photo.  This would be the closest we would get.  Ever since someone tried to kill the President and his family a couple of years ago, the White House is closed to visitors.  As we gazed at the Executive Mansion, we counted three floors.  However, our guide explained that it actually has six floors (ground, state, third, fourth, two basements).  

Truman balcony courtesy farm2.staticflickr.com.

We learned that George Washington never lived in the White House since it wasn't built until 1800.  We learned that the British burned it down in 1814 (War of 1812) and that it was repainted white to hide the charred walls.  We learned how Abraham Lincoln met Frederick Douglass within its walls and promised him that slavery would be abolished, a decision which would cost him his life.  We learned that William H. Taft, who called the residence "the most depressing House", got his 325-pound frame stuck in the bathtub.   

William H. Taft courtesy commons.wikemedia.org.

We also learned that Harry S Truman, a native of Missouri, added a balcony.  How Dwight D. Eisenhower used to hit golf balls off of the balcony in a game of "Hit the Secret Service Man".  (In fact, the Oval Office floor was pockmarked from his golf cleats.)  How Jacqueline Kennedy had the Executive Mansion restored and redecorated (see my blog post "George Washington Didn't Sleep Here" dated February 15, 2013).  And how Lyndon B. Johnson used the balcony to grill steaks on.  

Photo of President Eisenhower golfing courtesy www.whitehousemuseum.org.

We lingered outside the black fence for a little longer.  Then it was time to say goodbye to the White House, to say goodbye to the President, to say goodbye to the protesters.  As we made our way down the street, their voices faded.  But the spirit of democracy is as strong as ever.