We had an early start to our day so decided to walk from our hotel to the Lincoln Memorial, giving us an opportunity to see more of the city. From the WWII Memorial, honouring those who lost lives in WWII, we had a view of the Lincoln Memorial to the west and the Washington Memorial (scaffolded for repairs) to the east. A long reflecting pool lead us to a series of steps up to the Memorial that commemorates the man who stated "government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth".
Off to one side is the Korean War Memorial with statues of soldiers scattered through a field of grass with an embossed marble wall that reflects their images...very impressive!
26,000 Canadians served in the Korean War along with military recruits from fifteen other United Nations countries during this three year war.
Moving on, we visited the Vietnam War Memorial next. With its simple design and seemingly endless inscription of casualties, this memorial has a profound effect. Such a waste of young lives. Nearby was a statue dedicated to the women of the Vietnam War, mostly nurses.
The three figures depict Faith, Hope and Charity
From here we were determined to visit the National Holocaust Museum but felt the need to replenish our spirits and our bellies before bearing witness to one of mankind's worse atrocities. The Smithsonian Castle cafe provided a refreshing respite.
Upon entry to the Holocaust Museum we were asked to pick up an Identification Card. Each card identifies a victim of the holocaust. Mine was Eva Brigitte Marum, born July 17, 1919 in Karlsruhe Germany. She died in 1943.
The multi-media presentation does a brilliant job of presenting this disturbing piece of history including Hitler's rise to power. The Nazis were compulsive record keepers so much of the exhibit was from their extensive collection of data and film. It defies any explanation!
After two hours we escaped to the outdoors, took deep breaths and walked back toward the Hirsshorn Gallery. We desperately needed to feast our eyes on objects of beauty.
Woman
by Willem de Koonig
Triangles within Triangles
by Sol LeWitt
The Hirshhorn is the Smithsonian's museum of international modern and contemporary art. It was very uplifting to view this brilliant collection of paintings and sculptures after a day of memorials.
A dinner of Thai food completed an extremely interesting day. We are exhausted!
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