Trip to Washington DC

I have an annual trek to Washington DC in one of my volunteer capacities.  I am always led to the mall and the amazing statues I see there.  These are a few of my favorites.  

Having been a marine during the Viet Nam Era, this statue always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  Of course, with the wall looming in the foreground, these guys were the lucky ones.

This is a wider shot of the same statue.  It is always haunting no matter when I see it.

The wall is also very haunting.  I have a song from an Irish Group from Washington called "Still Waiting at the Wall" which talks about how when you look at the wall and people are touching the names it looks like hands are reaching back (with the reflection in that beautiful black stone).

This is a new one that I saw a couple of weeks ago.  Obviously the medics and the nurses were closest to marines and they saved a great deal of lives - lost their own trying to save others so it is a most fitting statue and salute to those who risked their lives to save others.

It's always great to be in the Nation's Capitol during the burst of color from the Cherry Blossoms.

My dad was on Guadalcanal, so I took this to emphasize that World War II had two massive fronts.

One can never visit the mall without taking a look at Lincoln. 

Another haunting monument is the Korean War Memorial.  I can feel the men at the "Frozen Chosen" looking at this revealing mass of soldiers in foul weather gear.

I always try to find frames that take spectators out, but this one seemed fitting.

This is my favorite shot of the Iwo Jima Statue in Arlington Cemetery.  Obviously this is the famous image people have, but they don't realize that this was the second flag raising that day and that the battle was not nearly over - it raged for over a month after this flag raising.