Yesterday is the first time I ever grasped the double meaning of the famous Reflection Pool on the mall of our nation’s capitol.  Until yesterday, I only thought of the term in its visual sense-  as that pool in which the image of the Washington Monument is reflected.   But yesterday, as I made my way around the major monuments adjacent to it ….. Lincoln,  Martin Luther King,  FDR,  Jefferson …. as well as the World War Two,  Korean War, and Viet Nam War memorials ….  it dawned on me that the term could also refer to the thoughtful reflection that this entire area of Washington is meant to inspire.   Maybe that use of the term only occurred to me yesterday because I was by myself-  and such quiet reflection became an almost essential element of the experience.

That first occurred to me at the start of the morning, when the entire choir posed for a photograph in front of the Lincoln Memorial – and then stood in a circle to sing “The Blessing of Aaron.”   But as soon as the photo was taken, many of us found ourselves walking into the memorial as individuals, to take in the quiet majesty of that place on our own private terms.  I so appreciated how moving it was that I decided then and there that I would spend a quiet day on the mall.

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A few students disembarked there for the day,  but some of us were taken on to the White House. I actually hadn’t thought that I would do that,  since the White House is somewhat remote from other points of interest,  but then it occurred to me that I had not stood in front of the White House since January of 1980,  on Nordic Tour.  So I joined a few students there and enjoyed not only the fun of seeing it myself up close,  but also to enjoy some of the students’s giddy joy at being there.

 

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But from there, I split off on my own for what turned out to be an ambitious yet quietly poignant journey around the mall, taking in sites I had seen before but experiencing them in a very different way.   And it was as I made my way to the Jefferson Memorial (which I think is the most beautiful of them all) by way of the Martin Luther King and FDR memorials,  it began to dawn on me that the various memorials were spaced apart from each other in such a way that allowed for reflection on each –  and that the water itself,  especially beautiful on that cloudless spring day,  played a part in enhancing that spirit of reflection.  Of course,  I wasn’t completely alone at any of these places- but I was essentially alone in my own thoughts.

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One moment when I especially appreciated company – so to speak – was at the Martin Luther King Memorial,   one of the most visually arresting of them all.  Around the perimeter walls of the memorial are some of Dr. King’s most powerful and eloquent statements – some of which I actually did not recall reading before.  As I made my way through the memorial,  I overheard several instances of young children being asked by their parents (or maybe grandparents) to read Dr. King’s words aloud.  It was a really beautiful thing to see and hear.

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But I’ve saved for last the experience of revisiting both the Viet Nam and Korean War Memorials- which literally moved me to tears.  (I suspect that most people find themselves crying at least a little bit when they’re there- inwardly if not outwardly.)  What occurred to me this time around-  which had never occurred to me on previous visits-  was how different those two memorials are from each other.   The Viet Nam Memorial is actually three memorials in one,  but what everyone remembers so vividly is the Memorial Wall on which are etched the names of 58, 195 American military personnel either killed or MIA from the conflict.   Maya Lin’s striking design stirred up plenty of controversy at the time of its completion in 1982 because it seemed to some to be too dark and lacking in grandeur.  But I think most people feel as I do-  that there could be no more eloquent or meaningful way to pay tribute to everyone who perished in that conflict.  To walk past panel after panel of names is in one way a numbing experience; one can scarcely take in the scope of such collective loss.  And then one stops to focus on particular names  … to consider that behind each name is a human being who loved and was loved- and whose death represents – to this very day- a shattering source of heartbreak for someone.  (At several different points during my visit, I watched people who were searching for a particular name- in one case unsuccessfully.  It was a powerful reminder that I was visiting the memorial as an American with no one in particular whom I was personally mourning-  but that others were there to mourn the loss of a loved one.   No matter which circumstance brought one there, I cannot imagine a more moving memorial.

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And then I proceeded to the Korean War Memorial and was struck by how the emphasis is not on names – I saw no names anywhere – but rather on faces.   The main part of the memorial consists of life size sculptures of soldiers moving through the field of battle – a vivid representation of the day to day experience of soldiers in the field.

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And although the overall image was quite dramatic and moving,  what was different this time around was that I found myself looking really closely at the face of the lead soldier.  It was a haunting expression – a touch of fear combined with grim determination and resolute courage.  I could not stopping looking into those unseeing eyes.  I have never been a soldier- and never even taken the time to really imagine what such an experience might feel like.  But this moment at the memorial fired my imagination to a degree I would not have thought possible.

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I am so grateful that whoever designed these memorials have managed to do their important work in a way that has made such powerful, moving experiences not only possible ….. but almost inevitable.   I feel the emotional impact a full day later almost as viscerally as I did in the moment- and I suspect that I’ll feel that impact for a long, long time to come.   It’s one more reason why every American who cherishes their freedom needs to find their way to our nation’s capitol to reflect on those who have gone before who have helped to shape this great nation and to preserve our freedom.