Ian McDonald- VMI Visit

Gibson was a fascinating storyteller. He definitely demonstrated the importance of coming to memorials with knowledge. The statues and memorials we went to would have been much less potent without Gibson, because I had limited knowledge of them. I appreciated how open he was with the controversial history behind some of the memorials. I felt like it made the stories he was telling much more complete. I also liked the focus he placed on the location of the memorials. The history of the statue of Virginia Mourning Her Dead, and how it was moved around to make room for Jackson, changes the overall vibe of VMI. Rather than the focus being on sacrifice, the focus of VMI is the leadership and character of Jackson.