By Susan Govern
My dad’s birthday at the end of October was a day we loved to celebrate. He always received gifts from us on his special day but with Veterans’ Day near I remember a year, well before 2001, when we gave my dad (a veteran) one of his gifts earlier than usual. Actually, it was meant to be a gift from my parents to me, my husband, and our two children, yet I can’t help feeling it turned out just the opposite.
Courtesy of my parents, we spent a wonderful week relaxing at the ocean in South Carolina, all six of us. The vacation was to finish with a flourish with a visit to our nation’s capital. As sometimes happens, not everything goes as planned in life and on vacation.
Arriving in early evening, and on the lookout for a hotel, we managed to see the Pentagon, many times! I counted at least three different sides of it as we drove in circles. For anyone who has ever watched National Lampoon’s European Vacation movie, picture the scene where the Griswold family is trapped in a traffic circle. Round and round you go, where you stop…it’s anybody’s guess in Washington D.C., and I’m not referring to politics.
Finally with the help of a woman (heavenly sent we all later decided) we found our way to a hotel. Starving by this time, pizza was ordered to be delivered, and while we waited, plans were made to sign up for a tour of everything we wanted to see the next day. Our circling of the Pentagon earlier should have tipped us off about what was in store for us.
The pizza having arrived, I realized we had paper plates and napkins in the van from our stay at the beach condo. No problem, I assured my family, I’ll take the elevator down, run out to the van and be back in a flash with what we needed.
Now my two biggest fears in life are (A) a broken cable in an elevator which plunges me to my death, and (B) a stuck elevator with me in it. Since I am here writing this, you know (A) is not what I experienced that evening.
It’s just a good thing I was alone in the elevator. With all the deep breaths I took to keep calm, I would have quickly used up someone else’s share of the air supply. By sheer will-power I did not let out a scream for help that probably would have been heard all the way to the White House, although, if the emergency phone or the directions from the gentleman on the other end had not worked, screaming in panic might have been a real option.
Completing my “simple” mission and returning to our room, I explained my delay to my family (who I still believe could have shown more sympathy instead of laughing themselves silly). Over a now rather cool pizza, we finalized our plans for the next day. We wouldn’t take a bus tour, we’d do our own with maps, and see just what we wanted to see; staying at each sight as long as we liked. It would be perfect! By now you’d think we should have known better.
Waking to a heat-wave of 100 plus degrees, we gamely made our way to Arlington National Cemetery as our first stop. A little oops along the way (allowing us to once again see another side of the Pentagon we might have missed the evening before), then we were there. “Melting” as we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldiers, we soon realized our discomfort was nothing compared to the sacrifices of these men, and all the others buried there. My dad, a veteran of two wars, proudly wore a gift from us given to him before our vacation even started; a polo shirt with Navy Vet, WWII, and Army Vet, Korea embroidered over his heart. I know walking at that sacred site, he felt things at Arlington that we couldn’t even begin to imagine.
After paying our respects, we moved on to the place my father had been hoping to visit since it was completed; the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial. For once, luck was on our side and we actually found a close parking spot along the street right near the memorial. Walking up to it, I sensed my dad’s excitement. I was happy we were there to share this moment with him. After taking some pictures, we stood quietly to one side in some shade. I could see my father deep in thought. I approached him and asked if he was o.k.; then I held him as he cried for all those soldiers he had known who were not standing there with him. It was a time for healing; to put many years of nightmares to rest.
Later, I missed a moment that I know my father will never forget. I had moved to one side of the memorial to take a picture, and at that time a young man of about twenty came up to my dad, shook his hand and said, “Thank you, sir.” then walked off. For my dad, those three words meant a lot.
We visited the W.W. II Memorial next, a long walk opposite from the Lincoln, the Korean Veterans’ and Vietnam Veterans’ Memorials, but I noticed something about my dad…he didn’t seem bothered so much by the heat anymore. He may have been almost 78 years old, but he walked with his head high, and with good reason!
God Bless Our Veterans, Past, Present And Future !
