We got home Wednesday night from the trip. It was quite an experience. When I finished in Vietnam, the US Navy sent me to Washington,DC in October of 1971. I was married to a lady from Brasil then. We drove from San Diego to Washington, DC. We got an apartment in the town of Colombia, Maryland. At that time, it was a brand new town built on some farm land. My first wife got a job with Senator Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania. We arrived in time to experience the freezing winter that is common there. It probably was not as cold as Moscow but it has a freezing Siberian wind and people who cannot drive when there is ice and snow on the ground. The black people there told me to buy a Volkswagen because the engine is in the rear nad the drive wheels in the rear. I did and the car was wonderful in snow and ice.
In the navy, my commanding officer was also a real estate salesman. He found us a house in Falls Church, Virgina. It was $22,000 US in early 1972 (Now it is over $500,000 US). My hands shook as I signed the papers for the house as I was signing for so much money. Here is a video of the house:
We later moved to a house in Sterling, Virginia near Dulles Airport, Here is the video on this house below:
While I was in this house I went to Chile and was there the day that Pinochet came to power on September 11, 1973.
We left Washington, DC in late 1973 for California.
I was at the Mars Society convention in College Park, Maryland for the first four days of the trip. Elena was able to go on the Metro to Washington, DC every day and explore museums and the zoo. After the convention ended. We took a tour of the area around the White House. We saw the Lincoln Memorial first. We then went over to the Korean War Memorial. It was really sad and emotionally strong. The video is below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGz-pgSUm6s
In November, 1950, American troops had pushed all the way to the Yalu River on the border with China and North Korea. Josef Stalin got very philosophical about the whole thing and remarked:
In November, 1950, American troops had pushed all the way to the Yalu River on the border with China and North Korea. Josef Stalin got very philosophical about the whole thing and remarked:
"Oh well we will have the Americans as neighbors."
Chairman Mao did not like it at all. He massed an army of 500,000 men on the border. He sent 250,000 men to attack the American force of 105,000 men. It was the coldest winter in North Korea in 40 years with temperatures dropping below -40 Fahrenheit. The US Army panicked and started to run away. The US Marine Corps knew they had to retreat, They fought with honor. The memorial shows a group of soldiers or marines heading south out of North Korea. It is freezing cold. They have blank and hopeless stares on their faces. It is so so emotionally powerful. You could look at it and imagine these men to be German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad, etc. I got tears in my eyes here.
We then went to the Vietnam War Memorial.I fought in Vietnam and four of my friends died there. I thought it was going to be a very bad experience for me. I handled it and saw my friend's names on the sterile black wall. Elena and I then went to the World War II memorial that was big and very inspiring. The video is below:
We then walked past the Washington Monument and the White House. We went to the Willard Intercontinental Hotel that is one block from the White House. This hotel is 150 years old and played a big part in American history. Elena had a dream to have dinner there. We did. It was not really very expensive.
On Monday we drove to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1863 there was a huge battle here between the forces of the Union under General Meade and Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee. 170,000 men fought at this 3 day battle. Over 51,000 were killed wounded or captured. This was the worst battle in US history until the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944 when over 100,000 Americans were killed, wounded, or captured. All of you Russians think we had an easy time in World War II. This battle was as bad as some of the battles you fought against the Nazis. Here is one of the videos we took at Gettysburg:
After the Battle of Gettysburg was over, President Lincoln came and gave the famous Gettysburg address. We ate dinner in Gettysburg and then drove to Baltimore. It has really improved over the years. We looked at the harbor area. We then had a long ride home in the dark.
On Tuesday we went first to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The weather was so so hot. We took a tour of the US Naval Academy and looked at the old buildings going back to the 1700's. Many famous people have graduated from this school that started in 1845. We then got back on the highway and crossed the Chesapeake Bay bridge and found ourselves on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I thought it would be a poor place with terrible roads. It actually was a very modern place full of prosperous small towns and beautiful forests. Elena wanted to go to a place called Assateague Island. It is the southern most point of the State of Maryland. It is also famous for wild horses. We found the island and explored it. We then drove around Ocean City, Maryland, We had dinner there and made the long ride back to College Park, Maryland.
Wednesday was our last day. We drove around Washington,DC. We then went to Arlington National Cemetery. This are was originally the estate of General Robert E. Lee. When he decided to fight for the Confederates, the US government seized the property from him on the grounds that he had not paid $92 US in taxes. Famous soldiers and people like John F. Kennedy are buried there.
It was quiet an experience! Please look into buying a FLIP video camera. It is around $184 US. It shoots HD videos and is so simple to use. It has opened a whole new world for me.
MFG,
-JackW
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