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A Warm Welcome
Veterans visiting the Memorial have been welcomed by such dignitaries as Bob Dole and Colin Powell. Elizabeth Dole, (North Carolina's first female Senator), who is known for her frequent visits with the Honor Flight groups, arrived while we were there.
Dole was the perfect example of the real reason that inspired the memorial: the opportunity to offer thanks. These senior veterans melted beneath her lavish appreciation and generous Southern charm, and I saw a flicker of the idealistic and visionary young men they had been, those many decades ago.
Dole proved that personal, heartfelt gratitude trumps other attributes like location or artistic design.
It is not necessary to be pro-war in order to be pro-veteran. War experiences, like other aspects of life, are personal, social, contextual and complex, and are often filled with unexpected silver linings. And from Revolutionary times to the present, one of the benefits of wartime has been the opportunity for people with significantly fewer rights, such as women and people of color, to make huge strides forward in their circumstances--strides that had been impossible to make during peacetime.
A Surprise on the Return Trip
The return trip included a visit and dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
Paul Hunter, 90, of Newport News, VA, was touched by both the color guard and the receiving line of military personnel who shook the hands of every veteran and thanked them as they entered the museum.
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