Whirlwind of Monuments and Memorials

Continuation of the March for Life Trip.

After arriving Saturday night, we headed to a nearby parish for dinner, praise and worship, performance painter, Eucharistic Adoration, and Confessions with others from the Archdiocese of Kansas City and even some others from Wichita and Tulsa. After the exhausting ride and a full night, we crashed in the hotel.

On Sunday morning, I started my touring day with taking the metro to the National Geographic Museum. They had a cool photo exhibit, including a series on the President and scenes you might not normally see published. It was very interesting and worth the extra ride on the metro in my opinion.

Then A and I hopped back on the metro and went to the Mall and saw a number of the monuments and memorials nearby.

Looking Up: The Washington Monument

was our first stop.

  Stars: With 4048 stars, the next stop on our way was the
World War II Memorial.

A Light in the Dark: Each star represents 100 American
military deaths in war.

 All Men are Created Equal: Next on our walk
was the Lincoln Memorial.

Looking Out: From the Lincoln Memorial, looking past
the reflecting pool, and towards the Washington Monument.

 The Forgotten Fight: Next up was the Korean War Memorial,
where we stopped and listened some to a park ranger talk about
this memorial and visiting memorials in general.

 Alone: I can't imagine how hard it would be to fight in
a war. To be so far from home, I can only imagine
how often the soldiers would have felt alone.

Together: From one angle it can look like they are all spaced

out, marching on their own. But it struck me from this angle how

they all are so close, walking as one unit.

 Reflection

 Remembering: As I watched this group find a name on the

Vietnam Memorial Wall, my heart went out to them.

I marvel at the number of people war takes a toll on.

Looking Back

It was cold and I probably looked ridiculous in my outfit all bundled up in hat, scarves, mitten (yes, one mitten... I couldn't find the other. It ended up being at the bottom of my bag). But it was worth it to see these memorials again and it's good to look back now and reflect on all that I saw in such a short amount of time.

These memorials are good, great, really. They are beautiful. They help us remember our past as a nation, to remember those who have fought valiantly for our nation, to remember the values and ideals our nation was founded upon. Yet, where is the national memorial for those who have no voice? Why can we not recognize that we are letting thousands die each day, right here, in our own nation--and it's not even considered a war.

"As bad as the economy is, as bad as the war is, the destruction of innocent human life, especially in the womb, is a greater evil, and correction of this grave evil must take place. Each of us has a role in making this correction in our duties as citizens."

-Bishop Samuel J. Aquila, Has America Lost Its Way?, October 24, 2008 (found on Pro-Life Quotes Blog)


Next Up: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass held there.



In Christ through Mary.