I was at Arlington National Cemetery this morning, as it was Memorial Day. The vastness and solemnity of it can be overwhelming. So many…Just so many. It is impossible not to have your soul touched while there.
We spent part of the day at the memorials. This is the World War II Memorial. I did not capture the enormity of it, the scope of the artists' imagination. Every state, country, and territory is represented here. Thank you. The impact of that war will be with us always. Always. I can never quite capture its essence. It's a beautiful, restful, and welcoming memorial. Thank you, World War II veterans. That was such a big war.
The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S., the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home.
I like to visit the Korean Memorial in the very early morning hours. There always seems to be a slight fog or mist and they appear to be walking through it. They look real in the distance. In really foggy rainy conditions, it will give you goosebumps, they look so real.
He was not just anybody, He was so much a somebody. A huge shining somebody. Never let these just be names on a wall. The Vietnam War Memorial.
“Lord my boy was special
And he meant so much to me”
And oh I’d love to see him
Just one more time you see
All I have are the memories
And the moments to recall
So Lord could you tell him
He’s more than a name on a wall
It has been said of the Vietnam Wall “You can touch it and in return – it will touch you.”
Especially on this day, there so many cards, pictures. letters to their sons, fathers. brothers and cousins. I have no words for these personal expressions of love and others of gratitude. They touch me deeply.
Freedom is not free. "an idiom in the United States that expresses gratitude for the service of members of the military. It implicitly states that the freedoms enjoyed by many citizens in Western democracies are only possible through the voluntary risks taken and sacrifices made by the military".
The outpouring gives me faith that what our soldiers in uniform do, is not for naught. Do not mistake this post. I can only pray for peace on earth, it is what I want forever and ever. But, my respect still goes out for the soldiers in the US military.Thank you for taking the time to peruse the post.
A token of love or respect, or both. Of love, respect, and sorrow. ❤
All I have are my words, armed in my mind, written in pen, stand by stand. Oh, yes. Still by hand. It has a different feel. Altered not by keys, backspace, and delete, I write, erase, tear it to pieces and start all over again. And again.
It’s my way. I walk out to the deep end of the page and dive right in.
The Naming of Cats
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
TS Elliot
#TeamUSA is a growing community of quality-content people from the United States or those living here. Check us out on Discord!
Thank you for the repost @pixresteemer! Much appreciated!
View or trade
BEER.Hey @dswigle, here is a little bit of
BEERfrom @pixresteemer for you. Enjoy it!Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your
BEER.Thanks for the beer!
Very moving and inspirational post.
Thank you so much for your thoughts and words, Keith. I hope you have an amazing week ahead!
Congratulations @dswigle! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 1200 posts.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Thank you for the notification!
You're welcome @dswigle 😊🌹👍
Well, 1100 posts... That's a lot!!! Keep going with this incredible flow!
Thans so much!
Thanks so much!
A powerful and touching post so fitting for memorial day,
i remember the two times I visited Arlington, the emotions I felt while there were indescribable
Thank you so much. The first time I ever went there, I was taken by the enormity of it all. I feel the same way about Flanders, Normandy, and other American Cemeteries around the world.
Did you get to the Tomb of the Unknown. I forgot to put the picture in of that. :(
Yes I did visit the tomb and also have been to Flanders and Normandy
Of course also to a few of the cemeteries in Gallipoli
I actually did not get to Gallipoli.
Gallipoli is big for us Kiwis and Australians of course
Absolutely! It was a huge deal. The warships were unable to force a way through the Dardanelle straits.
Funny, I never appreciated history until I started traveling. I liked it, but, I really delve into it now.
Yes I got so much more interested in history once I started traveling it just had so much interest for me
Exactly.
Congratulations, your post has been added to Pinmapple! 🎉🥳🍍
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Thank you! Done and done! Have a great day @pinapple!
They tell me
'Freedom is never free.'
I know that-
More than most realize.
Freedom cost us more
Than we should have to give.
Freedom cost us blood.
It cost us the lives
Of our fathers,
Our sons,
Our brothers.
But while freedom is never free,
Remember-
It has been bought at great price,
And so is a thing of great value.
We must defend it,
From those who would take it away.
The defense of our freedoms
Will cost us-
More than we wish to pay.
But we must pay, to defend,
For if we try to make freedom free,
We forget-
True freedom is never free.
-James Grengs
Thank you. xoxo
Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1219.
Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!
Become part of our travel community:
Thank you so much @livinguktaiwan for the curation!
My Great Great Grandfather was among the first to be buried there as he was fatally wounded at the battle of the wilderness and the fallen there were laid to rest at the newly aquired Arlington House. I still have his issued civil war diary in storage. One day inwould like to go find his grave there.
That means he is probably buried up on the hill at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
It is part of Arlington National Cemetery. If you have his name, I can look it up and take a picture of it next time I am there. They may even have some of the histories in their Archives. Let me know. That would be quite awesome~
I'll have to either dig his diary out of storage to get his full name or maybe ask a relative. I remember it was Captain Smith and I scanned in copies of the photos of him that came with the diary. I will do some detective work and get the full name
How cool! That would be really nice if you could find it. But, only if you want me to look it up. I have a feeling he is buried on the top of the hill on Lee's former property.
Is that the rose garden?
The Rose Garden is at the White House and Lee's former house is within the gates of Arlington National Cemetery.
Haha oh yeah
Next rime i am back in hometown will dig out the diary, its an interesting piece of history in itself
Sounds like a plan! I bet that is an interesting piece!
Issued leather bound. Has some interesting things printed in it like population sizes of the states that existed at the time for both freemen and slave populations. Postage rates to the old world etc. he writes in it and towards the end hes just in a medical tent as he was shot at Attle of the wilderness and he eventually succumbed to the wound.
The battle was bloody and no side could claim victory, it marked the first stage of a major Union offensive toward the Confederate capital of Richmond, ordered by the newly named Union general-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant in the spring of 1864.
What a treasure you have!
Your mind will be clam and derived if you are going to the cemetery- love, emotion, sacrifice, respect all make you something else. It alwalys honorable for the solder who died in different war. People's always remember them with deeply touches from their heart.
That is true and I agree with you. This is always a calm place for me to wander. There is something very peaceful about it.
Thank you so much for your words of kindness. Have a wonderful day.