DC Trip- Murray Manley

I really enjoyed our visit to DC, especially in the context of this class. To learn about something in such detail and then be able to go out and see for yourself the ritual interactions, the visual elements of the memorials, and to be able to interact with them on a personal level is such an invaluable experience. Even though I have been to DC and toured around the monuments once before, it's been such a long time and I did not remember much at all. However, what stood out to me the most during both visits was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

I loved watching the uniformity of the ceremony and the precision of each move- each step. From the soldiers' perfect hats to their shiny shoes, every detail of their uniforms was perfect. For whatever reason, the shininess of the shoes left a big impression on me during my last visit. This time, I was more captivated by the exact movements, by the worn trails on the ground that mark the soldiers' paths. I wish we could have heard the presentation about the Tomb beforehand, and I wish I could speak to one of the soldiers about his experience guarding the Tomb and what it means to him.
Below, I inserted a picture from our visit.

I also liked getting to see the MLK memorial. It was the newest memorial that we saw during our visit today, and I thought it was interesting to see such a new addition to the collection of monuments that make up our Capitol. In particular, I liked the wall of quotes, but I would have liked to see the beginning of the "I have a dream" speech as well. I thought the composition of the memorial was interesting- the stone carved from the mountain was a unique aspect/idea I had not seen before. For me, it symbolized the fact that King pulled away from the majority and acted for what he knew was right. The quote on the side of King's portion of the mountain read: "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

Finally, I loved getting to see the ongoing interactions with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Although I myself did not have any names I was looking for in particular, I found it very moving that someone had recently left a war medal below someone's name, while others left notes and small flowers tucked in the crevice at the base of the wall.