Today we spent the day in Washington DC we were able to see quite a few monuments. It was a lot of walking (over 10 miles) and some sore legs but totally worth it. We started out by our car and walked to our first stop, the Washington Memorial.

The Washington Memorial is a Tall Building standing at 555 feet tall. It took 36 years to build, 1848-1884. When it was finished this building was the tallest building in the world. This monument symbolizes the awe, respect, and gratitude the nation felt for its most essential founding father, George Washington.

Another Monument we went to was the Lincoln Memorial. Considering we learned a lot about Abe yesterday it was cool to see this statue of him. The whole Monument has 36 columns surrounding “Honest Abe” representing the 36 states that where established in the time the he was elected. He was the 16th president to be elected. He was also considered on of our “best” presidents. It was him who had a major roll in stopping slavery and that is one reason of many why we honor him. This monument opened to the public in 1922.

Next we went to the World War II Memorial. My great grandpa Clifton served in this war. This monument was one of the saddest ones. It honors all of the more than 16 million who served to defend our country. And the 400,000 who died during the process. This monument opened to the public in 2004. And It is open to visitors 24/7. It was a very cool place to be and see.

The next place we went, my favorite of the day, was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is a very special place where active soldiers protect the tomb. What’s so special about this tomb? This tomb has three very important people inside of it. They fought for our country and died doing it. They fought for what they believed in and for what they loved. The only thing is that we do not know who these people are. This tomb located in Arlington National Sematary represents all of the soldiers who are killed in war and we are uncertain of who they are. Thus its name “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”. During the time that we where their we where able to witness the changing of the guards. The guards are there 24/7 to guard the tomb, rain or shine. On the front of the tomb is written “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God”.

We would like to know how many states YOU have been to. We invite you to take participation in this poll. And we cant wait to hear from all of you!

These are just some of the places we went today. Here are a few pictures with some of the monuments. -grace

The Sculpture Gardens

 

World War II Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

The Washington Monument

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

The Vietnam Memorial

The Korean War Memorial

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

John F. Kennedy’s gravesite with the Eternal Flame – The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – Arlington National Cemetery