D.C. Trip - Sam Joseph

The trip was entirely overwhelming. Besides having to wake up early, it was a long day.
We started at the Washington Monument, stared at its nauseating heights and began our tour of the Mall.
Today was V-E day, so the National World War II Memorial acted a hub for commemoration, and we weren't really able to explore it from within. From the outside, it seemed smaller and less obtrusive than I had imagined.
As we wormed our way towards the Lincoln Memorial, we stopped by the D.C. War Memorial and stood elevated under its domed canopy, surrounded by doric columns.
We proceeded to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and discussed its the controversy girding its construction. Examining the memorial's formal elements led me to question whether or not the memorial's simulacrum of a mountain and King's separation from that mountain extends into a larger dialogue about Mount Rushmore in a manner that exceeds the memorial's parallel quotation: "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
Next, we walked through the Korean War Veterans Memorial. The space was truncated and unsettling in its divergent presentation. Close by, we went the Vietnam Veterans Memorials. In contrast to the Korean War memorial, the Wall comprised a simple arrangement with complex contexts. The difference between soldiers found dead and those still missing and the constant altering of that ratio creates an active memorial space. Drawing the Mall's focus towards itself, the memorial's east/west demarcation points to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial respectively.
We climbed the Lincoln Memorial and boarded the bus for Arlington National Cemetery. On our drive over, we passed the Jefferson Memorial. We walked past countless graves in their uniform patterns. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we watched the ritualistic changing of the guards. We visited John F. Kennedy's Eternal Flame, and we set off for the Marine Corps War Memorial next to the Netherlands Carillon.
Beyond sobering effects, the each memorial acted within a broad network of Americanism. Not just nationalism, but an evolving meaning for understanding and viewing America.