D.C. Entry #2
November 19, 2006

On Saturday morning I started the 28th day of my walk at the Lincoln Memorial. Originally, I had planned to walk for 26 days, one day for every 100 soldiers who have died. Unfortunately, the number is now over 2,865. I added a day on the walk through Utah and I added this last day in Washington, D.C.

I’ve been to the Lincoln Memorial several times before, but for the first time I noticed the large murals on either end. On one side, the Angel of Truth is freeing the slaves and on the other end she is uniting the North and the South. If only the Angel of Truth could fly to Iraq, I thought. Unfortunately, our society takes great pains to make sure that little or no truth gets to or from Iraq these days, let a lone a full-fledged angel.

On my way, I walked through the Vietnam War Memorial. It’s probably the best memorial I could imagine. For one thing, it has everyone’s names carved in the shiny black stone. That’s important. As you walk past the walls of names, the pathway lowers and suddenly you find yourself underground, or in the grave with all those who have died. It’s a powerful effect. It helps us honor and remember those who have died without glorifying war.

Next I passed the new World War II Memorial. It had massive stone pillars adorned with thick brass wreaths of oak leaves and olive branches. Inspiring quotes about the war covered the walls, but I didn’t see any names of fallen soldiers.

The walk went by quietly and I soon found myself at the front steps of the Capitol Building. I was pleased to see a group of Quakers holding a silent vigil for peace. Four of them help up a sign with a scripture from Psalms 34:14, “seek peace, and pursue it.”

It was a good way to end the walk.