Washington D.C.

Friday, May 22

Day 45

Micah took us over to the Glenmont Metro station and we headed off to our nation's capital.

 We initially stopped into the Museum of Building , looked around and then headed to the National Gallery of Art. We enjoyed a quick hour of looking at wonderful paintings, It was a perfect day outside so we decided to walk over to the Washington Monument and the National Mall.

 We had seen a lot of DC when we were here 14 years ago but there was a lot of new things as well. The highlight was the World War II Memorial which was built in 2004. We briefly talked to a park ranger who told us there was a veteran there today! We walked over, took his picture and Jack talked to him and I to his daughter-in-law for awhile. He was 93 years old, had flown many missions from London to Germany as a navigator. There were only 2 men left in his company, all the rest had passed. He was 19 years old when he was doing these missions and they virtually learned to fly with a few lessons and then started flying missions. The cabins were not pressurized when they flew, so his hands were still affected with deformed nails as a daily reminder of his frozen hands.

 After a heart warming chat, we continued down the mall to the Korean War, Lincoln Memorials and then the Vietnam Memorial. There were many people and groups in town for Memorial Day celebrations and remembrances. 

Korean War Memorial