Lest we forget

I can’t say it any better than that. My dh took this photo on our whirlwind trip to DC last fall. I hope you and your loved ones had an enjoyable day today, and that you remembered.

More photos of the voyage

Just a few more from the rest of the trip:

Back home in Michigan:

petting the calves on the farm

In DC:

going up some serious steps

The reflecting pool

the WWII Memorial

One last one of the little geocacher

The Greatest Generation

The final day of our vacation here in DC. This morning we went to see the WWII Memorial.

The monuments and memorials are what I love about this city. I don’t think I’ve ever toured a single one without a lump in my throat. The last time we were here the WWII memorial wasn’t finished yet. I remember hearing about people worried about its location, how it would break the symmetry of the reflecting pool between the Lincoln and Washington monuments.  No worries there. The brochure said it perfectly, it represents how the freedom and liberty begun by Washington and protected by Lincoln was preserved by the victory in WWII.

I couldn’t look at it without thinking about my Grandpa, who has since passed away. I wished that he could have seen it and I wondered what he would have thought. My dh commented on how he couldn’t believe how long it had taken for it to be built. Congress didn’t introduce legislation for it until the 1990′s. Then it occurred to me: the previous members of Congress who “overlooked” the fact that no memorial existed were the ones who made up that generation. What incredible humility.

It makes me profoundly sad, not only to see the gold stars on the memorial that represent those who gave the ultimate sacrifice but also to realize that the “greatest generation” is quietly slipping away.  I hope that the memorial will help us to remember not only their sacrifice and heroism but also the lessons they had to teach us.