Today I was at the Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima). I noticed that some people were fooling around and that they didn’t realize what it meant. I thought, why would anyone fool around when there are the people who fought for this country, real people like you and me. The memorial means so much to me because I really knew what the Marines actually did for us. When I saw the memorial I stood there for a while and just looked up at the six people memorialized in the statue. I think it was the most amazing thing to see this powerful memorial--it was like a punch in the chest. In my mind I thought “Damn, I am so lucky to be in this country and be free.” I wish I could have told everyone to not fool around and respect this memorial that meant so much to me and many others.
-- Matt
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if one reason some people forget the seriousness of a memorial, is that they have never experienced battle on home turf. If your visit had been to a Civil War memorial right after that war, I bet there would have been more respect. Its hard for some people to connect unless they have witnessed it or lost someone close to the battle. I'm glad it meant something to you.
Kat (Balt's Mom)