Never Forget – Veteran’s Day – Washington DC

I thought I’d share a couple of photographs that would be appropriate for today. I took these during a visit to the National Mall in Washington DC in July 2012.

If there’s one thing I can say about our American neighbours is that they really do national monuments well.

At one end of the mall as you head towards the Lincoln Memorial you’ll find the war memorials. The World War II Memorial takes up quite a bit of real estate and though it is impressive, the two that resonated most with me were the Korean and Vietnam Memorials.

The Korean War Memorial has a haunting beauty to it that I wasn’t expecting – it left me searching for words.

The Vietnam War Memorial is downright heartbreaking. It goes on forever and there are so many names of the fallen or lost etched into it, that once you wrap your head around the concept that each of those names is a real person; someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister, father or mother, who is no longer with us and will never be coming back, well for me it was impossible to not break down.

This photo still puts a lump in my throat every time I look at it.

Today of all days wherever you may be please remember to take a moment to pay your respects and if the opportunity arises, thank a veteran for their service.

Thank you for looking 🙂

Important Post Script: All this week Lisa over at Black Panty Salvation is doing a series of profiles on U.S. veterans. For those who have not read her blog yet, I encourage you to head on over and have a peek. She is a talented writer who has put together some insightful looks into the very personal stories of those who chose to serve.

Click on this link to get started with yesterday’s feature about her friend Debbie: We Poured Our Heart and Soul Into that Country