The second half of our first day in Washington, D.C. began in the National Mall just after we left the White House. We started next to the Washington Monument and moved to the west over to the World War II Memorial. I was most excited to see this memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on this trip. The two are separated by just a few hundred yards.
The fountain of the World War II Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.
The World War II Memorial was a really great monument, designed to represent the fighting on both sides of the world. It was a great tribute in my opinion. The Price of Freedom Wall was almost unfathomable. Each star on that wall represents 100 American service members killed or missing in the war. And there are a staggering 4,048 stars on that wall. That's such a huge number, and that's only from the United States. Hundreds of thousands of more were killed from other countries around the globe. The Lincoln Memorial in the distance made a great backdrop for pictures. It continued to rain on us as we walked through this memorial, making some nearby ducks very happy to splash through the puddles.
There is a column and wreath for each state.
The waterfall at the back of the World War II Memorial and one of the ducks I mentioned above playing in the puddles.
The Price of Freedom Wall
I love this inscription and quote by President Truman. This was one of my favorite pictures of the entire trip.
Washington Monument in the background when looking east over the World War II Memorial
We then walked through the Constitution Gardens over to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The rain picked up as we arrived at the wall. Again, it was a solemn moment as we read through the names on that wall. There are sooooo many. Shannon's uncle, Raymon D. Hales, died in the Vietnam War. He had told the family when he left that he knew he would not be coming home. We thought it would be cool to find his name on the wall. We couldn't find the registry to look up his name location, so we phoned Amber and she was able to find it online pretty quickly. It only took us a minute to find the section and line where his name was. Afterwards, we did find the registry and also looked up his name in the directory.
Looking across the pond in Constitution Gardens
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Raymon D. Hales on the Vietnam Memorial Wall
Our reflection in the wall at the segment where Raymon Hales's name is located
Raymon Draper Hales in the directory
As dusk approached, we moved over to the Lincoln Memorial. This one was quite crowded as it is a popular monument. And for good reason. Lincoln was a popular guy and the monument is quite spectacular with a giant version of the president sitting in contemplation. The statue is huge. If the statue were portrayed standing, Lincoln would be 28 feet tall.
Lincoln Memorial
Looking across the National Mall from the top of the stairs on the Lincoln Memorial
The memorial looked even better as the light dimmed with evening approaching.
We tried to hit a few more monuments before darkness arrived. We walked back across the National Mall, this time on the southern side. We first encountered another very cool, well thought out monument to the veterans of the Korean War. The Korean War Veterans Memorial features statues of soldiers in rain capes walking through bushes. A wall is located on the southern side. In the wall is carved images of those that fought in the war. The wall reflects the statues in the bushes and makes it look the soldiers are walking with those carved into the wall. Very cool.
Korean War Veterans Memorial
The wall and its many inscripted figures with the reflection of the statues showing up in the background. This was super cool!
Next up, it was the D.C. War Memorial before we crossed Independence Avenue to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The MLK Memorial was also quite impressive. Many of his quotes and parts of his speeches are engraved around the memorial.
D.C. War Memorial
In the center of the floor of the D.C. War Memorial
Martin Luther Kind Jr. Memorial
We had some walking to do now as we headed over to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial where Kaleb was to pick us up. It was a good haul around the Tidal Basin. The sidewalk was dark and wet. Really wet in places. The remnants of Hurricane Florence had come through the area about a week before, dumping huge amounts of rain in the area. Add on rain for the last 36 hours and D.C. was overly saturated. We found our sidewalk ending in water. It was dark and we didn't see the flooding at first. We ended up with soaked shoes and shins, then had to hike through dark woods to get back up to Ohio Dr. It was a bit sketchy for a few minutes, but we eventually slogged our way over to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, then over to the George Mason Memorial.
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. Very good words on that wall.
FDR took the country through the Great Depression, and started the CCC which built many of our national and state parks.
The FDR Memorial includes several waterfall features that are pretty interesting.
The Washington Monument from across the Tidal Basin with a group of ducks in the water.
George Mason Memorial
The lesser-known of the George's, Mason was also a founding father. This guy was a hardcore patriot. He wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which served as inspiration for Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Mason was a delegate at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He did not sign the United States Constitution because it did not abolish the slave trade and he felt it did not sufficiently protect individuals from the power of the Federal Government. Hardcore dude that shouldn't be overlooked in the history books.
Another shot of the Washington Monument as we approach the Jefferson Memorial.
Kaleb was right on time picking us up. He arrived just as we walked up to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. He gave us a bit of a tour and took some pictures of us with TJ. Kaleb had gone home after work, had dinner with the family, and then came back to town to give us a night tour.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Lots of TJ on this trip
Giving our best TJ look
Famous words from a founding father.
More words from TJ on the opposite wall.
The first stop on Kaleb's night tour was at The Pentagon, where we visited the 9/11 Memorial. This one was also a big one on my list. I still remember exactly how I felt that day when I sat in Art class in high school and watched the second plane fly into the Twin Towers, then later learned of the crashed plane at The Pentagon. Like so may times earlier today, it was a humbling moment to see each of the glowing benches that represented a life lost on American Airlines Flight 77, as well as those that perished while working inside The Pentagon. It was another very unique monument and was very beautiful at night. The darkness and gentle glowing lights felt fitting for what this monument represented.
National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial
We then cruised up to the Air Force Memorial. Again, it was a very unique monument. Three spires reach high into the sky, the tallest being 270 feet high. One wall within the monument bears the names of Medal of Honor recipients from the Air Force. Also on that wall and a second wall are inscribed the core values of the Air Force: integrity, service, excellence, valor, courage and sacrifice.
Air Force Memorial
The towering spires
A panel of flying planes with half of the core values visible behind them
We ended the night with my last must-see monument, the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial. This has to be one of the most memorable war images ever. The memorial is modeled after the iconic photo of six marines raising an American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. It is awesome! What a great way to end a long, but amazing day in Washington, D.C.!
U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial
Thanks for the night tour Kaleb! It was a super fun day that we couldn't have pulled off without him. Our time in D.C. wasn't over yet. We would be back the next day to visit more of the area. More on that in the next post.
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