Hello Again!

Today was a really full day! We went first to the VA Hospital this morning. It was a long morning of classes and instruction. Yes, we are doing some classroom style learning on this trip. It was really interesting because we learned about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a national expert Psychologist, we also learned about Traumatic Brain Injury and the long-term effects of that. The lectures were a little long but really educational. The Chief Administrator of Nursing at the VA was with us all day and she was SO excited to see us! She bought us all bagels and donuts and even met us outside the VA when our shuttle dropped us off. When we finished our learning experience at the VA we set out to see the monuments of Washington DC. First stop was the Smithsonian Museum of American History, specifically to see the Star-Spangled Banner Flag. This flag was amazing! It was used in the War of 1812 to signal the victory of the Battle at Fort McHenry. When Francis Scott Key saw the victory signal he was so moved and inspired that he wrote a poem titled, "Defense at Fort McHenry." This poem then became our nation's anthem and the flag became known as the Star-Spangled Banner. The flag was originally 30 feet by 42 feet! Just take a moment to think about that...ok, it is huge! This museum also is home to the Ruby Slippers that Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz. We spent only 1 hour running around the museum trying to see whatever we could but it was fun. We also visited the Washington Monument, WWI and WWII memorials, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. There was also the Lincoln Memorial and we saw the Capitol again. The memorials were all so neat but I loved the Korean War Memorial! It is neat because there are 19 7 foot tall statues of soldiers trudging through the brush and the trees. There is so much symbolism represented in this memorial and they incorporated a lot of natural elements like trees and shrubs. It was so beautiful compared to the other memorials that are almost all made of marble or concrete. The wall had a profound quote, "Freedom is not free." We were all pretty tired by the end of the day and we came back and ate dinner and are now in the process of going to bed because we will have a very early day tomorrow, we leave at 6:30.
I have been reading the book "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw and I love it! He writes about actual individuals who were involved in WWII and about their lives. Last night I read about D-Day and I want to share a short quote from the book. Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation and offered a public prayer for the troops who were in Normandy preparing for the invasion. This is an excerpt from his prayer, "In this poignant moment I ask you to join with me in prayer; Almighty God: our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set on a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity...They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest--until the victory is won."
I loved this prayer and was particularly touched that the president of our nation would offer a public prayer for our troops. I love that the entire nation rallied around the president and our troops in support of the cause. I wish our nation were that united now but I encourage all to pray for our troops and for our veterans if you feel so inclined.