May 30, 2005
By Terry
Private bulletin board
Many, many people remembered today. A friend and I went to the Wall
this afternoon. The place was crawling with bikers! Rolling Thunder is this weekend; and my friend and I went to see the Wall.
It is the same each year at the Wall; lots of bikes and bikers; lots of men who get a touch grayer and chubbier every year; Harleys of every shape size and color roaring up Constitution Ave. with ear-splitting rumbles. So powerful, so awesome....
Each year you hear friends remember departed friends whose names are on the Wall
; groups laughing their butts off with tales of R&R; some groups who hold hands at the Wall
and pray. Pictures of soldiers killed in Iraq are some of the mementoes left this year as well.
Many leave mementos at the Wall. This year I saw an older man, grey, balding and tears in his face leave an open pack of Kool cigarettes and a small bottle of Jack Daniels at the base of one of the panels. He touched a name upon the Wall
; shook his head and began to softly cry. It was quite moving. One can only imagine the promise unrealized by the deaths of these 58,000 men. One can feel their sacrifice; one can swell with pride in what they accomplished. They fought for freedom, for people to choose and do and be what they might ever want to be as citizens of the greatest nation in the history of the world. One's eyes brim with tears for these men who died; tears of sadness for they are no longer of the mortal world, and tears of pride for their devotion to duty and their sacrifice in keeping America safe.
One thing I did notice at the Wall this year was a large group of Vietnamese; something I'd never seen before. They were of the same age group as most of the bikers; 50's and 60's...They were slight people; short and paunchy and with graying wives. They held a sign at the entrance; a sign with the American and South Vietnamese flags; a sign that said "Thank you for your sacrifice". They were welcomed and hugged by the others at the Wall
; they know what Memorial Day
is about.......Remember and honor our heroes...........
We went to Arlington National cemetery next; flags are on each and EVERY grave in the cemetery. I drove onto the cemetery; I have a pass which bypasses having to do any walking on the cemetery (It's HUGE) so I went to visit my mother-in-law's grave (I miss her so; she was one cool mother-in-law.) A flag was on her grave; as a military wife she earned it (and Mrs. F always liked pomp and ceremony!)
We drove up to the Tomb of the Unknowns; watching the changing of the guard there. Imagine 500 people watching and silence like a blanket is over the whole crowd. These guards were on duty when Hurricane Isabel came through here year before last; they refused an order to stand down. Our Troops, so young; yet so wise and responsible to their country. Talk about pride!!!
I took my friend to the graves of Gus Grissom and Ed White, two of the 3 Apollo 1 astronauts (and my childhood heroes); their sacrifice for space is in a way part of Memorial Day
. We saw the graves of Joe Louis (the boxer and US Army service during WW2), Audie Murphy; President Taft; drove through the Memorial Arch memorializing the Union dead during the War between the states, and drove, and stopped at the markers for the crew of the USS Thresher (submarine that sank in 1962. The crew's markers are on a hill utterly brilliant with sunlight in the afternoon, so unlike the cold dark demise they experienced).
Arlington is hallowed ground; and a fitting place to spend Memorial Day
; remembering and honoring our American heroes.
All in all, I was one "inside the Wall" today; in mind and in spirit. This man remembers and honors the sacrifices; the lost lives, the spent fortunes that make our nation the greatest the world has ever known or will ever known.
Today was a good day.
