Memorials

We are trying to make a new tradition while we are here and take a quick trip somewhere outside after church so we can all enjoy it. This week, we were able to go see a few of the memorials that are on the National Mall.

First, was the Lincoln Memorial. Wow! The stature of Abraham Lincoln is 19 feet tall and 19 feet wide and made from 28 marble blocks. There are 36 columns around the memorial representing the states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death.

I have a lot of respect for this man and the life he led. He is a man who was passionate in his beliefs and never faltered, even when there was a war in front of him. I love that he realized that when The Declaration of Independence said “all men are created equal,” he knew that our nation was hypocritical in its practice of slavery.

It was especially special for us to go here after we went to Gettysburg and see the site where thousands were killed in this same battle. “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” –Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863. He gave his own life as a “last full measure of devotion” when he was assassinated six days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops.

Definitely a memorial worth being built.

Korean War Memorial

On June 25, 1950, the communist government of North Korea launched an attack into South Korea. Because the United States supported the world’s democracies, they sent troops immediately to Korea who fought with other nations under the U.N. flag. What they thought was going to be a short fight turned into a prolonged, bitter, frustrating three year fight. In 1953 a negotiated settlement established a new boundary near the original one.

As part of the memorial (middle picture) it says, “DEAD U.S.A. 54,246 U.N. 628,833; MISSING U.S.A. 8,177 U.N. 470,267; CAPTURED U.S.A. 7,140 U.N. 92,970; WOUNDED U.S.A. 103,284 U.N. 1,064,453… FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.”

Vietnam Veterans memorial

In 1980, Congress authorized a prominent area for a monument to be placed for those who died or were missing from the Vietnam War. They put it up for a competition and gave four basic criteria: 1) that it be reflective and contemplative in character, 2) that it harmonize with its surroundings, especially the neighboring national memorials, 3) that it contain the names of all who died or remain mission, and 4) that it make no political statement about the war. The memorial is visited by family members and friends every day who leave mementos and tokens of remembrance.

As we walked over to the memorial, there were several books that you could look through to help you find your family members’ name on the wall because the names are arranged chronologically from when they died. These are all the Coxes I could find!

The sculptor who made this sculpture said this, “They wear it on their uniform and carry the equipment of war; they are young. The contrast between the innocence of their youth and the weapons of war underscores the poignancy of their sacrifice. There is about them the physical contact and sense of unity that bespeaks the bond of long and sacrifice that is the nature of men at war…Their strength and their vulnerability are both evident.”