Macon Magazine

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2023 | maconmagazine.com 53 Wall of Remembrance was added in 2022. FDR Memorial and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Our next stop paired visits to the memorials of an iconic president and the titan of the civil rights movement. Enormous in size and scale, the 7.5-acre Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial consists of four outdoor rooms, each representing one term of the 32nd president's 12 years in office. Here we shared light-hearted moments as I photographed some of the veterans standing beside the president seated in his wheelchair. Set on 4 acres, the imposing white granite Stone of Hope statue of Martin Luther King, Jr., visible at night, awes — a giant of a memorial for a giant of a man. The 450-foot-long inscription wall features excerpts from some of Dr. King's most important speeches, sermons, and writings, and according to the National Park Service, captures his focus on justice, democracy, hope, and love. Slightly ahead of schedule, we had a little time to cruise around the city with our spry, intrepid guide, Rosemary Bozo, pointing out the sites and impressing us with her insider knowledge of our nation's capital. We paused briefly at the Eisenhower Memorial and the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial before our final stop. United States Navy Memorial We arrived at the U.S. Navy Memorial right on schedule at 4:30 p.m., where we picnicked on the sprawling plaza featuring The Lone Sailor statue and the Granite Sea, a giant map of the world's oceans. Before heading back to BWI to catch our flight back to Macon, we briefly toured the Navy Memorial Visitors Center honoring the men and women who served in the Navy, USMC, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines. Mail call and cake Despite the beautiful weather, our flight was delayed by a Ronald Dobbs; PFC Edward Masters; LCPL Gurney Len Miller; LCPL Dean Edward Nicholas; Sgt. Clifford Dan William." J.C. Hilliard also brought a handwritten list of 11 names and their locations on the Wall on his personalized Wounded Warrior stationery. His relationship with these 11 men dates to their earliest days in the Marines Corps at basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. Together, father and daughter set to work paying tribute to his buddies, he calling out the names, and she, with paper and pencil, dutifully creating rubbings on the cool black granite. Nearby, James Broach (Army) and Russell Curry (Navy), Jones County High School graduates and neighbors, also created rubbings and took photographs, and I took one of them pointing to the name Robert W. Jenkins, to honor a schoolmate who served in the Marines. A er exploring the entirety of the Wall, we proceeded past the Vietnam Women's Memorial. Authorized by separate legislation and dedicated to the nurses and women who served in Vietnam, it depicts three uniformed women caring for a bandaged soldier. Lincoln Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial We reboarded the bus for a mid-a ernoon stop at the Lincoln and Korean Memorials. Spring sunshine brought out crowds in Washington, and the perennially popular Lincoln Memorial was jammed with visitors on the steps and within the chamber where our 16th president is enshrined. The steep steps were too difficult for most of our group, but they were content to view the imposing memorial from below with its breathtaking view of the Washington Monument, its iridescent image shimmering in the length of the Reflecting Pool. We fanned out and hiked to the intriguing Korean Memorial — 19 seven-foot statues resembling U.S. military personnel in action; a serene Pool of Remembrance; and Mural Wall with 2,500 haunting photographic images subtly sandblasted onto a black granite wall. A MGHF had arranged for family, friends, scout troops, and middle schools to submit cards and letters to the veterans. A personal bag of mail was delivered to each one, simulating mail call when soldiers heard from home during their days of service.

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