<< Day 35: Washington, D.C.  | Days 37 and 38: Delaplane, Virginia >>

Washington, D.C.

We had another full day in Washington D.C. planned for today. This morning we would be visiting the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. In the afternoon, we had reservations to tour the U.S. Capitol Building.

I had originally wanted to take a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing this morning so that we could see how money was printed. Tickets were on a first-come, first-served basis, starting at 8:00 a.m., with most tickets gone by 8:30 a.m. during the busy season. Getting tickets meant that we would need to catch the 6:30 a.m. bus to the metro, not an impossible feat by any means. However, my desire to see blank pieces of paper being transformed into dollar bills was substantially outweighed by the anticipated effort required in getting up at 5:30 and getting everyone ready for the day and out the door on time. Factored into the decision was the reality that we wouldn’t have time afterwards to see enough national memorials for Genevieve and Sebastian to get their Jr. Ranger badges. This was an important consideration that clinched our decision. We would just have to look forward to seeing how money was printed during our next trip here.

Before we left for the metro, the children played with their new friend Annabel who is from Montreal and does not speak English.

The bus stop was very crowded this morning.

There were more French-speaking voices around us than English. Before now, I had no idea how popular the eastern United States is with Canadian tourists.

The kids wanted to sit in the front seat of the first car of the metro again. Sebastian brought his toy “Bumblebee Transformer” along.

Once we got off of the metro, our first stop in D.C. was the Longworth House Office Building, where the office of our House Representative, Sam Farr, was located.

Two and a half months ago, I had contacted our Rep. Farr’s office and requested tickets to visit the White House and the Capitol building. Two weeks ago, I had received an email stating that our request to visit the White House had been denied, but that we had been issued tickets to tour the Capitol building. The email had an attached confirmation that we were supposed to print out and present to the Ticket desk in the Capitol. We don’t have a printer in our RV, so we were visiting Rep. Farr's office this morning to receive a printout of our tour confirmation letter.

We didn’t have the opportunity to meet Rep. Farr; however, his assistant Claire Johnson was kind enough to print out our tickets.

We then took a taxi to the Lincoln Memorial. Our taxi driver was from Sierra Leone, and had lived in the United States for 30 years. He said that he wished there were no politicians or politics so that the people could govern themselves. He feels that politicians all say one thing and then do another. He has never visited any of the monuments or memorials in D.C., and dismissively stated, “I don’t even look at them.”

I had visited the Lincoln Memorial before, but this time was even more special because of the poignant Ford Theater presentation yesterday, combined with the fact that Genevieve and Sebastian were so excited about being here.

The children set to work at once to answer the numerous Jr. Ranger questions in their booklets. We were on a “treasure hunt” for information. Here are some of the things that we discovered.

The 36 columns around the structure represent the number of states that existed at the time of Lincoln’s death.

The memorial was built from 1914 to 1922. This nation only had 48 states when the memorial was completed; the names of those states are chiseled around the roofline of the memorial. A plaque for Hawaii and Alaska can be found in the plaza.

The statue of President Lincoln is 19 feet tall and 19 feet wide.

One of the Jr. Ranger requirements was to identify the location of the U.S. flag within the memorial. We looked everywhere, even walking around the entire outside of the structure. Finally, Ben and the kids walked down to the National Park information booth and asked. No one in the booth knew the answer! Finally, one worker called a Ranger on the phone, and we all discovered that the flag is carved in marble and is “draped” over the chair on which Lincoln is sitting.

In front of the Lincoln Memorial was a long reflecting pool, with the Washington Monument in the distance.

We noticed a continuous stream of planes flying by in preparation for landing at the nearby airport.

Given the planes that had been hijacked and used as weapons on “September 11th”, I was surprised to see how low the planes were flying, especially since we were so close to the White House. However, I can only presume that all of these planes are closely monitored and that any deviation from the strict landing pattern would be countered with a well-planned and prompt intervention.

Underneath the monument, there was an exhibit entitled “Lincoln’s Legacy” that contained various quotations from Lincoln’s speeches and writings, as well as information about how those words have inspired people to gather at the memorial at different points in history. This exhibit was conceived and funded by a group of Arizona school students who visited the memorial in 1990 and felt the need for an exhibit about the continuing history of the place—such as the story of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the reflecting pool in 1963. The students started a fundraising campaign called “Pennies Make a Monumental Difference,” and the exhibit was completed in 1994.

Lincoln firmly believed that the phrase “all men are created equal” unequivocally negated slavery. This belief was reflected over and over in his speeches and writings, and most importantly his actions.

Our visit to the Lincoln Memorial, as well as to Ford’s Theater yesterday, gave me a much deeper appreciation of what a great man Lincoln truly was, as well as the tremendous difficulties he faced when leading such a divided nation. It is a tragedy that his life was cut short, at a time when this country could have used his strength, brilliant intellect, and calm temperament to start healing two deeply separate factions. But then again, as shown in the present day, people with anger and hatred in their hearts don’t seem to have open ears for logic and reason, let alone the concepts of fairness or compassion.

We then walked a short distance to the Korean War Memorial. The center portion of the memorial consists of a triangle with 19 statues of soldiers carrying their military gear and wearing rain ponchos.

One of the Jr. Ranger questions for this memorial was “What is represented by the number of statues in the memorial?” Hmmmm. We scoured all of the exhibit text at the site and on the brochure that we had picked up at the Ranger Station yesterday. Nothing was mentioned about the number of statues. We were all puzzled. There were no park rangers around to ask. Then I overheard a nearby tour guide instructing his group to notice how the figures of the 19 soldiers are reflected in the shiny granite slab against the side wall; he then explained that the statues and reflections created a total of 38 figures, and that the border between North and South Korea is found at the 38th parallel, which is also where the treaty to end the Korean War was signed. Wow--we never would have figured that out on our own. The importance of the number “19” is a fascinating piece of information that should not have been so hard to discover. Logically, it seems that the visual elements of the memorial would create a deeper connection with viewers if the symbolism were revealed, not hidden.

We had a quick lunch at the nearby outdoor café, and then headed to the Vietnam Memorial. On the way, we passed by Robert Smith working at a booth selling military patches and memorabilia.

On the front of the booth, there were two bumper stickers that read, “Evil Thrives When Good People Do Nothing.” Robert did not any of those bumper stickers to sell, but we both agreed that the saying was “so true”.

At the Vietnam Memorial, we were fortunate enough to find Paul Baffico, a volunteer docent and a Vietnam vet, giving a presentation.

Paul traced the early history of the Vietnam War, starting in 1955, when the U.S. intended to give only advisory assistance to South Vietnam in holding off the invasion by the communist North. In 1965, the U.S. deployed Marines to Da Nang, Vietnam, and this marked the first offensive move. From 1965 to 1972, the United States engaged in an offensive combat situation.

550,000 troops were deployed to Vietnam. Over a tenth of those perished. The Vietnam Memorial contains the names of 58,261 men and women who lost their lives or were declared missing in action.

In 1972, after much controversy, the Paris Peace Accord was signed, and the United States withdrew from Vietnam, turning the battle over to the South Vietnamese. In April 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, and South Vietnam ceased to exist.

The Vietnam War was the longest war in which the United States had ever been involved.

Paul explained that most soldiers were shamed and shunned when they returned to the United States. Most, including himself, never wanted to say the word “Vietnam” ever again. However, the Vietnam Memorial helped to change things and start the healing process. Paul stated that the Vietnam Memorial is the most visited memorial in the entire world, with 4.5 million visitors each year.

The shape of the memorial represents a cut, or wound, in the earth, and the grass around it represents the healing.

The building of the Vietnam Memorial was very controversial. A design contest was held in 1980, and over 2500 designs were entered. Maya Lin, a 21-year old architecture student at Yale University submitted a design that she had gotten a “B+” on for her senior project. Within 2 hours, the 8 judges unanimously chose her design as the winner. However, an uproar of criticism rose because 1) the design was somber and not “glorious”, 2) Maya Lin was an Asian-American woman whose parents were Chinese refugees, and 3) she was discounted as being “too young” and without any knowledge of Vietnam.

Congress called the design a “black gash of shame.” They initially gave the memorial a piece of land tucked away behind the Arlington Cemetery; however, the memorial proponents insisted on a prominent place on the National Mall. Approval was only given after a figurative statue was commissioned to be placed nearby.

The figurative statue was created by Frederick Hart, who had received the third place prize in the initial Vietnam Memorial competition.

The work is called "The Three Soldiers." Mr. Hart said the following about his creation: "The portrayal of the figures is consistent with history. They wear the 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 bonds of love and sacrifice that is the nature of men at war. And yet they are each alone. Their strength and their vulnerability are both evident. Their true heroism lies in these bonds of loyalty in the face of their aloneness and their vulnerability."

Sebastian (and Genevieve) both were very careful in filling in all of the requested information in their Jr. Ranger booklets.

We left the Vietnam Memorial and took a taxi to the U.S. Capitol building.

Our taxi driver was from Iran, and he has lived in the United States for 31 years. He was very reserved and did not volunteer information, and I didn’t want to pry with any further questions. He did, however, smile at Sebastian and say “Nice to meet you!” when I told him that Sebastian’s best friend is from Iran. We arrived a bit early for our Capitol building tour. Across the street was the U.S. Supreme Court building.

No liquids or food of any kind was allowed inside the Capitol building, so we spent some time outside consuming some of the snacks and water that remained in our backpack.

The U.S. Capitol had a huge Visitor’s Center attached.

Inside the Visitor’s Center lobby are many figurative statues. We later learned that each state is allowed to have two statues in the Capitol building; the only two requirements are that 1) the statues must be either marble or bronze and 2) the person represented must be deceased.

The overwhelming majority of statues in the lobby were of European-American men. Here are a few that reflect some of the diversity of this great nation.

Sarah Winnemucca, from Nevada—she lived from 1844 to 1891 and is described as a “defender of human rights,” an “educator,” and the “author of [the] first book by [a] Native woman.”

Chief Washake, from Wyoming—he lived from 1798 to 1900. He must have seen many changes to his home lands during his long (102 years) lifespan. His statue contains his statement made near the time of his death: “It has always been my fervent hope and policy throughout these long years to maintain peace and harmony . . . It is my earnest prayer that you will follow these footsteps that I have made for you.”

John L. “Jack” Swigert, Jr., from Colorado—he lived from 1931 to 1982. He was identified as an astronaut on Apollo 13. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1982, but he died of bone cancer before he could be sworn into office.

Jeannette Rankin, from Montana—she lived from 1880 to 1973. Her statue has the quote, “I cannot vote for war.” I later learned that she was the first woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the first female member of Congress. She was strongly opposed to any wars, and she voted against the entry of the U.S. into both World War I and World War II.

Po’ Pay, from New Mexico—he lived in the 1600’s. He is identified as “holy man, farmer, defender”, and “leader of the Indian Pueblo Revolt.” In the revolt, Po’ Pay led the Pueblo Indians against the Spanish, who had harshly persecuted the Indians, forced the Indians to work against their will in agricultural fields and in mines, forbidden any practice of the native religions, and committed countless atrocities against the Indians.

Philo Fansworth, from Utah—he lived from 1906 to 1971. He is often called the “Father of TV” because he invented the first fully electronic television system.

Maria Sanford, from Minnesota—she lived from 1836 to 1920. Her statue identifies her as an educator, orator, and civic leader. Furthermore, it describes her as a “sturdy and resilient puritan, whose perceptive mind and reverence for classic truth and beauty quickened intellectual life within the pioneer state of Minnesota and beyond its frontiers.”

The lobby also contained a full-size plaster model of the Freedom Statue, which is the figure that sits on top of the Capitol dome.

American sculptor Thomas Crawford designed the figure from his studio in Rome. The plaster model was used to cast the actual bronze statue, which was installed in parts. The head was placed in December 1963, in the midst of the Civil War.

The plaster model was restored in 1992. With the figure so close, we could see and appreciate the details that are not readily apparent when viewing the actual statue at its location over 280 feet in the air. For example, we noted that there are stars around the face, and that the helmet has an eagle’s head and feathers; the bird's talons drape down on both sides of her face. The figure holds a sheathed sword in her right hand, and the left holds a laurel wreath and a shield with stars and stripes.

Near the Freedom Statue were two busts. The first was of Sojourner Truth, who lived from 1797 to 1883; she fought against slavery and for women’s rights, and her 1851 “Ain’t I a Woman” speech has always made my heart swell with pride at her tenacity and clever wit.

The second bust was of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish man who worked in Budapest, Hungary, and saved thousands of Jewish lives during the Holocaust by issuing protective passports and providing a safe hiding place. He was arrested by the Soviets when they took control of Budapest from the Nazis in 1945; there is some dispute over his death, but a 1991 investigation concluded that he was executed by the Soviets shortly after World War II ended. Because of his humanitarian efforts and courage, he was named an honorary citizen of the United States in 1981.

Our tour of the U.S. Capitol started with a film called “Out of Many”. The phrase “E Pluribus Unum” means “Out of many, one”. The film asked, “How do we move forward as one nation, with so many different people?” The answer was by electing representatives who can find common ground.

Then we began the walking portion of the tour. Our guide was Barbara.

She led us to the center of the Capitol building, often called “the crypt” because underneath is a vault that was intended to be the final resting place for George Washington. However, Washington specified in his will that he was to be buried at his home, Mt. Vernon, and Martha (his wife) refused to move his remains after the Capitol vault was built.

The center has 13 statues around its circular perimeter, one for each of the 13 original states.

In the middle is a 16 point compass in the floor. That spot is not the geographical center of Washington D.C.; however, it marks the intersection of the four quadrants in the city—northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest.

We then walked to the Rotunda. Barbara explained that the 180-foot tall dome was the second one built for the Capitol. The painting in the center is “The Apotheosis of Washington” by Constantino Brumidi. It depicts George Washington dressed in blue, surrounded by 15 maidens. On one side is Victory, and on the other is Liberty; the other 13 maidens represent the 13 original states.

Brumidi also designed the “Frieze in American History” that stretches around the bottom of the dome, and looks like sculpture.

The frieze portion took 75 years to complete. Brumidi painted 1/3 of it before he slipped and ended up hanging 60 feet above the floor for 15 minutes before he was finally rescued. After that, the 70-year old artist painted a bit more on the frieze before deciding to stop; two other artists finished the work.

The Rotunda had some large paintings on the walls. One painting depicted the “discovery” of the Mississippi by DeSoto, the first European to lay eyes on that river.

Another painting showed the baptism of Pocahontas, who became “Rebecca.”

The statues in the Rotunda were all of past presidents except for 1) a bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. and 2) a portrait monument to three women: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott.

After the tour, I did some additional research regarding the “3 birds with 1 stone” statue of women. Here are a few details of my findings:

Lucretia Mott lived from 1793 to 1880. She was a Quaker who worked tirelessly for abolition and equality for women in jobs and education. She organized the 1848 Seneca Falls convention in New York, which many say “launched the women's rights movement.”

Elizabeth Cady Stanton lived from 1815-1902. She was president of the National Woman Suffrage Association from 1865 to 1893 and the author of the woman's bill of rights, which was read at the Seneca Falls convention. She never stopped demanding the vote for women.

Susan B. Anthony lived from 1820 to 1906. She fought against slavery and joined with Stanton in 1851 to promote voting rights for women.

Also in the Rotunda was a statue of Ronald Reagan that had arrived earlier this year. Around the base of the statue are bits of the Berlin Wall.

Since California can only have two statutes at the Capitol, the arrival of Reagan meant that one of the existing statues would have to be returned. The California legislature voted to remove the statue of Thomas Starr King. Who? I had never heard of him, and neither had Ben (who was born and raised in California). We later learned that he was a Unitarian minister who was a gifted orator; during the Civil War, he gave many fiery speeches supporting the Union and was given credit by Abraham Lincoln for keeping California from seceding from the United States.

The second California statue was of Junipero Serra, who was instrumental in establishing Catholic missions throughout California.

When looking at the two statues that represent my state, I have to wonder about the methodology under which the possible choices were considered and finally selected.

A statue of San Houston was in the Rotunda. Barbara said that Houston spent his spare time whittling wooden hearts at his desk. He would then look around at the women in the balcony around the office area and have a page deliver a heart to the chosen woman.

Near the end of the tour, we passed the entrance to Nancy Pelosi’s office.

This morning, Claire had given us tickets to get into the House galleries to watch the “action” occurring on the floor of the House of Representatives. After our tour of the U.S. Capitol building, we stood in line for 1 ½ hours to sit in the gallery. Genevieve and Sebastian had amazing reservoirs of patience today. Unfortunately, the House was in recess when we finally entered the upper balcony area. We sat for 20 minutes waiting for some activity, watching a handful of high school interns run around below. Then the guards told us that we needed to make room for other guests to sit.

We returned to the Ranger Station near the Washington Memorial to see if the children had completed enough activities to earn Jr. Ranger badges. As I mentioned previously, the booklets were extremely detailed and asked for a lot of information. We had not had time to visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial or the World War II Memorial, so the children had not completed those pages.

Ranger George, however, was wonderful with the children.

He went over the pages that had been finished, and he asked Genevieve and Sebastian various questions. Then he helped them complete two final pages about additional monuments.

He also asked each one which was their favorite monument and why. Genevieve’s favorite was the Washington Monument. She said that she liked going to the top and seeing the views. She also thought that the history was interesting regarding how the construction had stopped, and the stone was a bit darker when the building had resumed. Sebastian said that he liked the Lincoln Memorial because it was “really big”; he said that even though we didn’t “do anything” there, he just liked being at that place. Me too, Sebastian! Ben and I were very proud when the children received their badges from Ranger George.

While walking across the grassy Mall, we caught a view of the White House peeking up from the surrounding trees.

We celebrated the day by stopping at a Ben and Jerry’s store in the Old Post Office Pavillion. Yum! We took the metro and then the bus back to the RV Park.

We were all exhausted from our full day. For me, the exhaustion was emotional, not physical. I was busy processing and sorting through all of the stories that we had heard during our two days here. My thoughts were bouncing around: the hatred that darkens the hearts of those who think that there light skin makes them superior people, the tragic assassination of Lincoln, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial with its 56,000 names, the senseless killings and violence in war, the several hundred slaves that were owned by George Washington, the crowded U.S. Capitol building with its artwork that primarily celebrates European conquest, the denial of voting rights to women until just 89 years ago . . . .

There really is no single view of “history”—it is a matter of perspective in most cases. For too long, past events have been whitewashed, atrocities have been omitted from history books, and America’s “story” has been presented to schoolchildren (and adults) as a country that has “always” been the “land of the free.” Yes, we have much to be proud of. Our country is amazing in its diversity and overall freedoms, yet there are shameful actions that are hidden or somehow verbally justified. I was glad to see that different storytelling voices are now being accepted as “valid,” and that the immensely complex social and political fabric of our nation is finally being aired, and even accepted, in bits and pieces.

<< Day 35: Washington, D.C.  | Days 37 and 38: Delaplane, Virginia >>

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