On
this Memorial Day I think it appropriate for me to detour from my travel
experiences to tell you about a trip a good friend of mine, who happens to be a
WW II vet and who happens to live in Sun City Texas, recently took to
Washington, D.C. to see the most recent memorial on the Washington Mall.
The
34 Sun Cityans, plus a 107-year old from Austin, were excited about the trip
and were surprised to see 200 people up early to cheer them and send them off.
My
friend told me, “You can imagine the war stories that floated around inside the
plane. You know the memorial sits on 7.4 acres about half way between the
capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. At a cost of 175 million dollars, it took
three years to complete. Opened in 2004, it is a memorial to the 16
million men who served in the conflict
and the over 400,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice. You know the war ended 68
years ago so it doesn’t take much to figure none of us are very young any more.
“I
couldn’t believe my eyes as we were
pushed down the long exit lane at the DC airport at the huge crowd, many of
them school children who had come out to greet us, cheer, shake our hand,
clapping and telling us thank you for our service. What a welcome!
“The
next day we were awakened by the loud phone ringing at 5:20 AM. We had been
instructed to stay in our wheelchairs at all times to be pushed about by our guardian. This wheelchair business is pretty new to me but it does have
advantages in crowds and lines!
“Our
first stop was the WW II Memorial which is certainly impressive and its
location gives it a commanding presence. Granite, bronze and water blend well
with the lawns, trees and shrubbery of the surrounding landscape. The 24 bronze
relief panels flanking the ceremonial entrance brings new life into old black
and white photographs of that era. The
56 granite columns are split into two half-circles framing the rainbow pool and
its fountains. The columns representing the 48 states, seven territories and
the District of Columbia are joined together with a bronze rope at the bottom.
Each engraved column. holds a bronze oak and wheat wreath. The two 43-foot high
arched pavilions represent victory on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts.
“Senator
Robert Dole and Award winning actor Tom Hanks teamed up to raise the monies for
the memorial to become reality after over a half of a century.”
My
friend told me they also visited the Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, Vietnam
Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, The Navy Memorial, Air Force memorial and
basically ended the day at Arlington National Cemetery.
Statistics
estimate that 800 veterans are dying daily. Honor Flight Network made its first
flights of six veterans in 2005 using
small private planes. The program was the brain child of a retired Air Force
physician assistant who was also a pilot and working for the VA. The program
grew and in 2008 Southwest Airlines became their official carrier. Each veteran
is assigned a guardian who handles his wheelchair. Most of the guardians are
young active duty servicemen who volunteer for a flight.
Everyone
knows how important mail call is to anyone in the service or anyone away from
home for that matter. As the vets were headed home there was once again mail
call where each was handed a manila envelope of letters written by friends,
volunteers and school children.
My
friend closed by saying, “It had been an exciting day but a long one and nearly
everyone snoozed on the flight home. It was a wonderful experience and honor to
be part of this group.”
On this Memorial Day pause to think
about all those who have so honorably served and fought for our freedom. God
bless America!
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