WWII Memorial

The WWII memorial was much larger than I expected it to be. It was another beautiful war memorial that struck close to home as my great-grandfather was a marine during the war.  He never told me very much about it. One story he would tell was when he was in charge of sending and receiving the men to and from Iwo Jima. He said when they left they were so excited about serving their county and getting to fight. When they returned they were completely different people. They were boys turned men who had seen and lived the horrors of war.

The military seals

Never forget POW/MIA

It is so beautiful at night!

Daddy and me

"They have given their sons to the military services. They have stoked the furnaces and hurried the factory wheels. They have made the planes and welded the tanks, riveted the ships and rolled the shells." President Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death - the seas bear only commerce -  men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace." Get. Douglas MacArthur

"They fought together as brothers-in-arms. They died together and now they sleep side by side. To them we have a solemn obligation." Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

posted by Sarah

Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial struck me as similar to Arlington Cemetery - rows and rows of those who gave their lives for freedom. And similar to the Korean War Memorial it wasn't our freedom, it was someone else's. This one also struck a cord close to home as I have several family members and friends who served in Vietnam. Something that has always greatly disturbed me about the Vietnam War is how our soldiers were treated when they returned home. We should always be extremely grateful to those who are willing to die for freedom. We may not agree with the fact that they went to war or what they had to do while they were over there, but they still went because our country called them. They went through unimaginable things at war that you and I will never know. They are HEROES and they deserve our honor and respect.

The lights they use to light it up at night are very soft so I had some difficulty capturing it at night. The pictures really don't do it justice.

posted by Sarah

Korean War Memorial

The Korean War Memorial is a beautiful memorial to our soldiers. This war is kind of a forgotten war. You hear about the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, and Vietnam War but you never really hear much about the Korean War. One of the things I think is important about this war was that Americans weren't fighting for their freedom. They were fighting for someone else's.

Let's never forgot ALL who gave for freedom.

posted by Sarah 

56 Signers Memorial

This memorial is dedicated to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. There is a stone for each of them with their name, profession, and signature on it.

Thank you to the 56 Signers: George Read, Caesar Rodney, Thomas McKean, George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, John Morton, Benjamin Rush, George Ross, James Smith, James Wilson, George Taylor, John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton, Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery, Lewis Morris, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, William Floyd, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton, Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, George Wythe, Thomas Nelson, Jr., William Hooper, John Penn, Edward Rutledge, Arthur Middleton, Thomas Lynch, Jr., Thomas Heyward, Jr., Abraham Clark, John Hart, Francis Hopkinson, Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott, Charles Carroll, Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, and William Paca.

posted by Sarah

Jefferson Memorial

Another beautiful memorial to one of our founding fathers and presidents, Thomas Jefferson, writer and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

They also had quotes by him posted on the walls. I'm sure none of you will recognize this one! :)

Daddy and me

As with the other memorials, it is beautifully lit up at night

A few quotes by Thomas Jefferson:
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just. That His justice cannot sleep forever."
"It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself."
"The government is best which governs least, because its people discipline themselves."
"When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty."
"I predict happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."
"If you want something that you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done."

posted by Sarah