Richard and Karen Keetch, John and I went on a two week tour with Bryan Judd Tours from July 9 to July 22. We flew to Washington DC then traveled on bus to learn about our American Heritage and LDS Church History. It has been a marvelous experience for us and has greatly increased our understanding and appreciation for this great nation and for the miracles that have made the restoration of the gospel possible.
The Washington Monument is covered with scaffolding because the the earthquake. This monument can be seen from many places. All the other places are memorials.
I was moved to see the Lincoln Memorial. There were people from all over the world there.
We found the names of three of our friends from Lindon who were killed in Vietnam--Frank Walker, Ernest Fowlke, and Jeff Goss. .
Two of the names were low but one was near to top so Karen walked around the wall and reached over to copy his name
The Vietnam War Memorial showed the soldiers going through the countryside. The wall showed pictures of actual support people etched into the marble.
The World War II Memorial was amazing. I didn't realized how many people died. They had a large wall of stars--each star representing 1000 soldiers.
Karen and Kathryn near the Utah pillar. They had pillars for all the states and countries that provided soldiers that fought in the war.
The Martin Luther King statue had many quotations surround his memorial.
The Jefferson Memorial was beautiful. Even in the heat of the afternoon it was cool and majestic. He wrote the Declaration of Independence. Everything in Washington DC is super-sized. Notice how small the people are in comparison with the statue The city is beautifully laid-out.
Notice how small Jefferson is compared to the memorial but everything is perfectly proportioned.
The Capitol of the United States
We visited one of the 17 Smithsonian Museums. This one told the history of aviation and space travel.
A special treat was to attend as guests the Twilight Tattoo at Fort Meyers which provided the soldiers who guard the Unknown Soldier. A tattoo is a military parade and demonstration of skill. This one featured the fife and drum and had costumed participants from all of the wars. Their percussion ensemble has won numerous awards.
These represented the Revolutionary War. A man rode a horse through the field representing Paul Revere.
Representatives of the Civil War.
Representatives of the Vietnam conflict.
The arms drill team showing their skill.
A group of enlisted men marching . We were warmly welcomed by these young men and women whose faces radiated goodness. It was an amazing performance which was cut short by a terrible rain storm. We were told to get back to our buses as quickly as possible. By the time we got there we saw large limbs which had been ripped from trees already.
There are many burials everyday at Arlington National Cemetery and each receives unique care even if there is no family there. It is the respect of a grateful nation for their service. We also saw a procession with a white caisson and white horses with many mourners following being. Henrietta's brother-in-law was buried there recently and I was able to find the information about his birth, death date, and burial date on the internet as well a a pictures of his grave marker. At first the markers were unique but now they are all the same in precise rows. If there is a spouse or family member, that information is listed on the back of the soldiers marker. In a national military cemetery, only those who have served in the military or their family members are allows to be buried there.
Rows of markers.
Changing of the guard.
We also witnessed a wreath-laying ceremony for a family member who has been killed on active duty. This must be arranged for months in advance. It is as precise as the changing of the guard. There were many Scout troops because of the National Jamboree in a few weeks.
We attended a special presentation about Lincoln's assassination presented by the US Park Service in the very theater where it happened. It was amazing to actually be there and hear all of the details.
Lincoln actually died in this house across the stree.
The Christus statue in the Visitor's Center in Washington DC. The statues are the same but the backgrounds are different depending on the location of the visitor's center.
The Washington DC Temple was closed because of the damage it has received but will soon be opened again. It is the tallest LDS Temple in the world. It is surrounded trees and flowers in a beautiful setting.
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