Editor’s Note: This is part two of a two part series on a trip of Yorktown and Cuero students to Washington D.C. from June 1-7.
Day 5 began with a trip to Arlington National Cemetery. The group toured the Arlington House, where Robert E. Lee lived before the Civil War. They also saw the graves of many famous Americans, like Audie Murphy and Joe Louis. They also visited the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy, which has an eternal flame burning. But, the highlight was witnessing the ceremonial changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then, the group visited the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, which is a statue of the famed Iwo Jima picture that Yorktown native Harlon Block is known for. Then, the group went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, where they saw the ruby red slippers that Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz, as well as the stovepipe hat that Abraham Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated. After that, the group went to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, a huge, four-floor museum. The group was able to see some of the more interesting exhibits like the ones on sports figures, like Michael Jordan and Jackie Robinson, as well as civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The museum also has many chilling ex-hibits on slavery.
The group finished its day off with more memorials. First, they visitedtheKoreanWar Memorial. The Korean War is often referred to as “the forgotten war” and the memorial does a good job of paying homage to the war. Then, the group made a quick photo stop at the Albert Einstein Memorial, before heading to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as well as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. While at the wall, the students found the names of three men from Yorktown who were killed during the Vietnam War: Franklin Delano Audilet, Wallace Stanley Dworaczyk and Fernando Amayo Hinojosa. The day ended with a trip to the Lincoln Memorial, where the students saw the huge statue of Abraham Lincoln, as well as two of his most famous speeches that are etched into the walls inside the memorial. They also saw the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood while giving the “I Have a Dream” speech.
