Vet’s to DC May 2022

Not a great picture, but the only one I had with my Navy ball cap. Well, I guess I could take a selfie. Not sure that is any better.  Any ways, back to the story. During the winter of 2019, I'm walking around Walmart and was approached by this gentleman who thanked me for my service.  That happens normally while wearing the hat.  But this guy starts asking me about my service. That is not normal.   Meet Scott Stewart.  If he ever tells you he doesn't like to talk, well, take that with a grain of salt.  So for about a half hour, Scott asked about my service and invited me to apply for Vets to DC of Logan County.  Best meeting I could have ever had in Walmart. In January of 2020, I downloaded the application.  I am including the link here simply because it is a pointer to further information if you are a vet and haven't gone on the trip yet.  Which I would highly recommend. Logan County Vets to DC website . Then came COVID.  We couldn't go anywhere.  Even the local pizza

  Fall-In ! We arrived at the Logan County Fair Grounds ready to travel.  Vets to DC had everything prepared for us.  Breakfast snacks were available, drinks, coffee, doughnuts, fruit.  One thing this organization believes in is food, keep them full.  They say an Army runs on its stomach.   As you might expect, our commander-in-chief had a few words.  Well, maybe not a few.   Seats were assigned on the buses.  Luggage was tagged and loaded for us.  Our vehicles were commandeered and taken to storage.  Everything ran like a fine tuned regiment.  And Scott said a few words. And the people came. And came. And Scott said a few words. We were honored to meet many special people.  This is Charlie and his wife, Phyllis  If you know me at all, you know that I have a wire loose in my head.  The one that connects faces to names. So for the rest of this blog, I apologize if I do not recall your name or do it incorrectly.  Charlie was a Korean War vet and would tell you he didn't do anything i

 The bus trips were long, but Vets2DC broke them up appropriately.  After all if you have 60-70 odd senior saints on board, you have to stop occasionally, for obvious reasons.   At each stop, I would watch the expression on the caretakers eyes.  As the mass of people ascended on the rest area, their eyes increased in size directly proportional to the number of seniors.   Then the Blue Shirts got out the snacks.  This tub was huge.  It had to be 6 foot by 5 foot and 4 foot tall.  (Slight exaggeration!!!) And a similar tub of water in ice.  Yep!  Feed that army.  Our second stop was in Donegal, Pennsylvania at a rest area I-70.  OK, I was surprised.  Tables and chairs were setup already. Apparently, there was a vehicle with a trailer traveling with us and arrived ahead the buses.  Table cloths were taped down, silverware (the plastic form) were made available, and box lunches were served.  And more food than we should eat. And someone was kind enough to make Snickerdoodles.  Thank you. 

  Here Rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But to God  Our first place to visit was the Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were let off in front of the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater.  And we were cautioned that this was a place that commanded silence and respect. It was upon this backdrop our Army Vets decided to take their group picture.   Everywhere, we were reminded of the somber attitude of respect. Respect for the Soldier. After this change of guard, we had the privilege of watching the wreath laying ceremony by our own Logan County Veterans. One aspect of the Arlington National Cemetery that was so mind numbing was the sheer number of gravestones.  This picture was simply a small section that was viewable from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but everywhere you looked, there were rows and rows of soldier graves. Another highlight of the visit to the cemetery was the mast of the USS Maine.  The Maine blew up in the harbor in Cuba and

  I'm sure you recognize this iconic statue from WWII.  Our next stop was at the US Marine Corps War Memorial.   Our Marines gathered for a picture.  Remember to look at the camera.  Do we have everyone?  OK, now we have ....  Remember to look at the camera. Hey, everyone.  Look at the camera. What you don't see in the Iwo Jima photo is an armada of 500 ships and swarms of warplanes that made it possible to put three Marine divisions and an Army regiment ashore - more than 110,000 sailors, airmen, soldiers and Marines. Next post - Air Force Memorial

  Our next port of call was the Air Force Memorial.  You can't miss it if you only look up.  Into the wild blue yonder...   Our magnificent seven airdales posed in front of the Air Force Honor Guard statue.  The Honor Guard statues were modeled after various members of the Air Force Honor Guard and Base Honor Guard's throughout the Air Force. You might be surprised to find that the United States Air Force was not around during WWII.  They were founded in 1947.    That was the Army Air Corps that are pictured in those old photos.  Personally, my father flew B-25's during WWII for the Army. The three stainless steel spires evoking an image of jet and space vehicle flight were breath taking.  But, I suddenly had an epiphany, a unique thought.  What if I laid on my back and took their picture from below.  Down I went and picture I took.    But... Immediately, I was surrounded by all our Blue Shirt volunteer helpers led by our nurses.  Apparently, I gave them a little excitement