Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Got To See.....

We recently visited the George Bush National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. This museum is all about the War World II fight with the Japanese. It is well worth the trip. I was nearly crying as I went through it. The stories were heart wrenching. The displays were very well done.

I was very surprised to find this is not a memorial to George H. W. Bush since the museum carries his name. There is one small display that plays the film clip taken when he was rescued from the ocean after being shot down and a sign that tells of how he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. (Note I did not say, “won” as if medals of this sort are awarded for sport.) That’s it – no statue, no larger than life photo, just a quiet display to honor this war hero.

I wish my vocabulary were sufficient to express how this museum impacted and impressed me. As I struggled to keep the tears from flowing my husband asked why I was crying. After all this was before I was born. In my mind I compare the current war on terror with that of WWII not Viet Nam, the displays seemed more pointed, more relevant, more intense – it just made me cry.

But I wasn’t alone with the effect of the displays. At one point Lewis was telling me about a Marine tradition that when a Marine that survived the battle at Tarawa enters a room all other Marines stand – his voice cracked.

The display is powerful. It is very educational. It is large. It is noisy. It is somber. Take time to visit it especially if you can take someone who has served in the military. This should be on the list of places to visit before you die.

ElaineH.

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