Through the past

I've never been to a war memorial. Well, no. I did go to Pearl Harbor, but I really didn't get that it was a memorial. I was like...8 maybe? My world revolved around swimming. We went today, instead of me going to a cemetery. Was more in the mood for darker pictures but I found a certain lack of objects and a simpler invoking happening there.

It's very quiet there. Which is odd, because in the parking lot...it's really not. A simple marker at the beginning of the park explains the origins. Then you have a long view of a solitary path ending in a circular area. While I originally thought it was the end, it instead had a hidden path working around the sloped hill to small granite alcoves. While still listing the Vietnam War and ensuing conflicts on the memorials. They focused still on what life was like for those that were here. The great storms we had, county fairs and school triumphs. It gave it more of a, we still lived a life while this happened feeling. I liked that.



In the Alcoves, they listed names. I assumed they were of soldiers that died that year. Sadly as most memorials go, each year added more and more names to the lists. Until the walls were almost completely covered. Still I did not feel a sense of look at everyone who died. It was more, like you could imagine them walking on that path and seeing that even at the worst times, life still kept going. That there death wasn't the only thing people wanted to share. To me, anyways.



As the walk continued around the circle and up, it was hard to miss the growing impact of the war. The good times seemed to be fading faster in the dialogue of the walls. The names began to white out the dark stone and grim stories of fighting here and there. Marches for peace and death tolls rising. By the end you feel the strain of the war, as much as a spectator can.



...And every time you throw him to the wall, why are you surprised to see he's breakable...