Now it's my pleasure to bring you part 2 of the guest blogger series here on the Siron family blog. With all the pictures I took and the great stories to tell it would've been tough to put everything into a single blog so I broke things up into three parts. Picking up where I left Part 1 we wrapped up about an hour or so of time at the WWII memorial and loaded back on the buses. From the WWII Memorial we went just down the National Mall to the end where the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials and the Lincoln Monument are located.
Again for anyone who hasn't been to D.C. the Lincoln Monument is the main point of this end of the National Mall. The Korean and Vietnam War Memorials are right next to the Lincoln Monument with one on one side and one on the other side of the Reflecting Pool. Unfortunately the Reflecting Pool is not much of a pool right now but more of a dirt pit. A couple years ago it was the National Park Service discovered that the pool was leaking and thus they began a multi-year project to tear it up and rebuild the pool. We didn't let that get in our way though and we went to our first stop at the Korean War Memorial.
This is my Grandpa next to the reflecting wall that runs the length of the Korean War Memorial. The Korean War Memorial is a fairly good sized memorial with the large reflecting wall on one side with three walkways making a triangle. The walkways surround multiple life-size statues that represent a platoon on patrol in Korea. The reflecting wall behind my Grandpa has numerous faces etched into that are actual faces from the veteran service files. That's enough on the background of the Memorial.
You may notice in the picture that my Grandpa is smiling and looking but not at me taking the picture. That would be because as I got him up to take the picture several other people stopped and also asked to take his picture. Who is looking at here was a tour group from China, I believe. He was great about it and stood there for a few more pictures. He was definitely not the only veteran who was stopped for a picture and that was something that happened many places. At the WWII memorial as we were waiting for the buses one of the veterans was literally surrounded by a Chinese theater group who were very excited to meet him and spend a few minute talking with him. This was yet another moment when I was taken back by the honor that complete strangers give to our veterans, something that is very much deserved!
From the Korean War Memorial we walked over by the Lincoln Monument. We didn't go up to the top of the Monument but just walked around it. My Grandpa had seen it before and didn't really care to go up to the top. Something you can't quite see in this photo is that they were also filming a movie on the steps of the monument. We never got close enough to see if it was anybody famous but I did see somebody running down the steps and then being chased by 2 guys. We also walked over and then around the Vietnam War Memorial Wall and spent some time looking at the great sculptures that are around that memorial to honor all of those that served in Vietnam.
From the Lincoln Monument we were back on the buses and on the road to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum Annex at Dulles. Of all the times I've been to the Air & Space Museum on the National Mall I've never taken the drive to see the larger addition to the museum that is out near Dulles Airport. As we walked in I noticed that Boeing sponsored the hangar with the large static displays so I thought I'd at least show some company pride.
At the Air & Space Museum we broke into smaller groups and were lead on a guided tour of the Museum. As I said this a very large museum and holds several displays. In the time that we had our guides mainly focused on 5 main displays that are unique to this museum. In this picture we are standing next to an SR-71 Blackbird. Each of the tour guides are volunteers at the museum and many come from aviation backgrounds. Our guide was a previous mechanic for American Airlines and he definitely knew what he was talking about.
Previous to us heading to the museum I was curious why they trucked all the way out to this museum instead of going to something on the National Mall. One of the 5 main things to see at the museum is the actual Enola Gay. For anyone who doesn't remember their history books the Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 and the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. It became pretty clear in our group that this was a highlight. As one of the other Navy veterans said to our tour guide, "Take me to see that plane that saved all our lives!". Of everything to see here I noticed this is where each of the groups spend the most time. I can understand the significance of this aircraft and what it did but to have lived through that period and in my Grandpa's case to have been on your way towards Japan when it did it's job is something completely different. After seeing that and the veterans' reactions was something very memorable.
One of the other big 5 things to see is the Enterprise Space Shuttle. This shuttle was not used for any shuttle missions but was the first shuttle orbiter built and the one used for most of the initial test flights leading up the initial use of the orbiters by NASA. Me being the aviation geek I am this was pretty awesome to see.
So of course I had to get a picture of my Grandpa and I in front of it! This was pretty much our last stop before we left and we didn't really make it around to see everything. Of the other big displays that we didn't see that would've been pretty neat was one of the Concord aircraft, which was another of the big 5 to see. I have to apologize that I didn't pay enough attention to remember what the other 2 were.
From the Air & Space we were back on our way over towards Arlington. First stop near Arlington was the Iwo Jima Memorial honoring the U.S. Marine Corps. I've seen this memorial multiple times but it's still one of my favorites and one that does a really good job truly honoring all the Marines that have served and those that continue to protect our great nation.
In driving to and around Arlington we passed by the Pentagon multiple times. From the Iwo Jima Memorial and the main gate into Arlington the Pentagon is literally just across a highway. This picture might be a little tough to see depending on how it shows up. If you look at the photo you'll notice the area of the bricks near the top that are white and the bricks below it that are a different color than the bricks on either side. This is the area of the Pentagon where American Airlines Flight 77 impacted the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. It was just interesting to me how noticeable this was 10 years after everything happened.
From Iwo Jima we were on to the U.S. Air Force Memorial. This was both my and my Grandpa's first visit to this memorial. These three spires can be seen all around D.C. and are built to represent the com-trails of three jets taking off towards the sky.
Here is my Grandpa taking a rest at the Air Force Memorial. By the time we got here it was getting later in the day and as much as he had been pushing on he was starting to get pretty tired. I'll have to say he definitely was not the only one getting tired and many in our group were moving pretty slowly but everyone still had high spirits and an excitement that never went away then entire day.
This is another shot that I tried to get from the base of the spires. It turned out pretty neat with the clouds in the background.
The Air Force Memorial is on the top of a hill on one end of Arlington National Cemetery and has an overlook on end that overlooks D.C. At each end are walls with inscriptions to honor those Airmen and women who have fallen in duty and those that serve. This picture is of a glass wall on one end of the memorial with etched in jets flying in a missing man formation to show respect for those pilots lost in service.
This is a shot of one of the walls on one end of the Air Force Memorial. I personally know many men who currently serve in the Air Force and who have in the past few years so I wanted to get a shot for them.
From the Air Force Memorial it was on to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery. This is a shot of one section of Arlington as we were driving in.
As we were waiting for the Changing of the Guard I took a shot of the back of the shirts we were all wearing. It may be hard to read but the green "guardian" shirts said "We can't all be heroes. Some of us get to stand on the curb and clap as they go by." - Will Rogers. The blue veteran shirts said "If you can read this thank a teacher! If you can read this in English thank a veteran!".
During the Changing of the Guard they ask everyone that is able to to stand. The veterans were all told beforehand that they did not have to try to stand but as you can see many of them were going to no matter how tired they were. This photo is of the guard coming on duty being inspected by lead guard before his duty.
This is another shot of the guards, with the guard coming off duty on the far right, the lead guard in the middle, and the guard coming on duty on the left. The Tomb of the Unknown is at the background. For anyone who hasn't seen this live it is something to see for sure. The guards stand watch 24 hours a day 365 days a year changing guards every 30 minutes during the warmer months and every hour during the winter. Previous to our trip when Hurricane Irene came up the east coast the guards were given the option to not stand guard but everyone of them volunteered and continued their watch despite the wind and rain.
Another shot of the guards as all three guards march past the Tomb.
Arlington was our final stop in D.C. and definitely one that they mean to save for the end. Many of the veterans had never seen the Changing of the Guard and the buzz of how amazing it was to see could be heard from many of them. It was yet another amazing stop on our whirlwind tour around D.C.
I know I said this was our last stop but even though headed off to the airport after Arlington it was by no means the end of the excitement for the day. More to come in the stunning conclusion in Part 3!
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