Memorial Day sites one should never forget
Reserved.
It’s fitting that this year Memorial Day in the United States falls on what would be President John F. Kennedy’s one-hundredth birthday. I remember his inaugural address as if he gave it yesterday. President Kennedy said in part that day,
“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
Our service men and women have heeded that call throughout U.S. history. They have defended the nation in its hours of “maximum danger” with their energy, faith and far too often, with their “last full measure of devotion,” as Abraham Lincoln exclaimed at Gettysburg.
Memorial Day gives each American a special opportunity to do more than party, go to the beach or take a vacation. It gives each of us a chance to honor the memory of our service men and women who gave their lives to ensure our nation’s safety and freedom at Memorial Day sites across the country.
There are many travel opportunities to learn about America’s military history and the greatness of its heroes. Below are four U.S. historic military sites that I recommend every American visit to learn and remember.
Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknowns – Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, is the U.S.’ most famous military cemetery. This Memorial Day site, established during the American Civil War, is on the former estate of the family of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s wife, Mary Anna (Custis) Lee, a step great-granddaughter of George Washington. This Memorial Day site is the final resting place of veterans and military casualties from each of the nation’s wars, from the American Civil War to the present day. The Tomb of the Unknowns, a monument dedicated to American service members who have died without their remains being identified, is within Arlington National Cemetery. It holds the remains of unknown soldiers from World War I and II, and the Korean War. The remains of the Vietnam War unknown were removed when he was identified by DNA analysis fourteen years after he was interred in the Tomb. That crypt remains empty to this day.
A special platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment guards the Tomb 24 hours a day, every day of the year. There is a moving “Changing of the Guard” ceremony conducted at the Tomb every half hour during summer months, and every hour during winter months, during the day.
USS Arizona Memorial – “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy…” President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech began. The USS Arizona serves as the final resting place for many of the battleship’s 1,177 crew members who lost their lives on that day at this Memorial Day site in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Looking down at the Arizona from the Memorial floating above, oil can still be seen rising to the water’s surface from its wreckage. Some swear you can still smell the battle in that oil as they survey the harbor, where two battleships were lost, six others severely damaged, and more than 3,200 men and women were killed or wounded.
When I visited the Memorial for the first time a number of years ago, I was struck by the eerie quiet among the memorial’s visitors, even children.
Valley Forge National Historical Park – No battle was fought at Valley Forge, but the Continental Army encampment was nonetheless instrumental in the American victory over the British. Valley Forge (just 25 miles from historic Philadelphia) was the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army, led by General George Washington. The sacrifice and perseverance of the men, frequently chilled to the bone, and often wet and suffering from disease, encamped during that severe and snowy Philadelphia area winter, brought honor to themselves during the extraordinary birth of the U.S.
Gettysburg National Military Park – This July will mark the 154th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, a major turning point of America’s Civil War. The Union victory at Gettysburg ended General Robert E. Lee’s second and most ambitious invasion of the North. The battle was the war’s bloodiest, with more than 46,000 casualties, including almost 8,000 killed.
The eerily named Cemetery Ridge, Pickett’s Charge, and Little Round Top, from this Memorial Day site were added to America’s lexicon during the Battle of Gettysburg. Four months after the battle ended, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated the Soldiers’ National Cemetery with his historic Gettysburg Address.
I hope you have a chance to visit at least some of these amazing places of American history this year. At these Memorial Day sites, listen for the echoes of the voices of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for America. At Arlington, during this hundredth anniversary year of the birth of President John F. Kennedy, don’t miss his gravesite with its eternal flame.
(Image: Hawaii – Pearl Harbor- Arizona Memorial, Copyright © 2016 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.)
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
