D.C.-The Day After
It's Sunday morning, about 11:00, and I am sitting at home nursing my second cup of coffee, trying to wrap my head around what I did yesterday.On Saturday, I went to bed around 1 a.m., and before I knew it, the alarm clock was blaring at 5:01 a.m., telling me I better get out of bed if I didn't want to miss my flight.
We were off the ground shortly after 8 a.m., and on the ground at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia not even an hour later.
The weather was cold and breezy in the Middle Atlantic region, but that didn't stop more than 100 veterans, along with a dozen or so volunteers and media types from soaking up every last bit of our trip to our nation's capital.
We walked around the National World War II Memorial for hours, and interviewed veterans, and talked with others about what they saw, what they remembered, and about a lot of other things.
We will bring you those stories on Monday night on News13, and I hope you can join us.
Jody Barr and I also walked around D.C. a bit, and visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, and peaked at the White House for a few minutes.
The scene, the feeling, and the mood at the Vietnam War Memorial was so striking, and so powerful, I can't even describe it in words. It's been 25 years since the wall went up, and this weekend, crowds gathered around it, as dozens at time waited in line to read aloud all of the names of soldiers killed in the Vietnam War.
Compared to the grandeur, the stately appearance, and the sterile nature of the World War II memorial, the Vietnam Wall stands as a fresh wound on this country's face, a stark reminder of just how many Americans died so far from home a generation or two ago.
I can't explain how I feel.
Don't think I feel the World War Ii veterans sacrificed any less than the Vietnam vets. I'll never think that. No one can ever convince me of that.
I guess what I'm saying is this: If ever you thought World War II and the Vietnam War were the same type of war, fought by the same country twenty years apart, then you are dead wrong. Period.
I'm not even old enough to have lived through either.
Anyway, it was a miraculous trip, and a wonderful trip, where we laughed, we watched in silent wonder, and we made real contact with a remarkable group of men and women.
I'll try to share more as it comes to me.
Join us Monday night, where I hope we can do this trip justice by putting on videotape what we saw.
Posted by on 11/11 at 11:01 AM
