The summer travel season has started. Despite the recession, many have already hit the road, and taken to the air. I wish great summer vacations for all on this holiday “kick-off,” yet I hope we all remember what today, Memorial Day, means.
Memorial Day commemorates our men and women who died while in the military service of our country. Abraham Lincoln’s words in the Gettysburg Address resound the significance of this day to me. “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”
Our military men and women who were killed defending us, died to ensure our liberty, to ensure we can live our lives with the sweet breath of freedom. Today, I will be visiting Washington Square, Philadelphia, site of the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. Under Washington Square lie more than a thousand unknown soldiers of George Washington’s Army who died during the Revolution.
In the square, there is a large memorial tomb with a statue of Washington, and an eternal flame reminding us of their everlasting spirit which brought freedom to our nation. The plaque reads, “Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington’s army who died to give you liberty.”
While many vacationers are staying close to home this year, some will be flying long distances too. I have a few suggestions, if your plans are not yet set, for great vacations where you can see wonderful and historic places which echo the sentiment of this holiday weekend and of the memorial in Washington Square.
Boston was one of the centers in the fight for American independence. The Freedom Trail in Boston takes you to most of the main sites you should see: Bunker Hill (you know, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”), Old North Church, the Old State House, Boston Common, the New State House (with a first-hand view of the infamous Sacred Cod), Faneuil Hall, and the Paul Revere House.
If you have youngsters there’s much to see and do, just for them. The Boston Children’s Museum, the New England Aquarium, and the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) are just a few.
Nearby, consider traveling out to Lexington and Concord, and the “Shot heard ’round the world” at the old North Bridge.
Virginia has great places to visit, evocative of the Revolutionary War. My personal highlights include: Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, George Washington’s home, Mt. Vernon, and Colonial National Historical Yorktown Battlefield, where on October 19, 1781, the British army under General Charles Lord Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington. That victory secured independence for the US, and changed the course of world history. Also in Virginia is one of the prime “colonial sites” in America, Colonial Williamsburg, and for the kids nearby, the Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park.
How could I not mention my hometown of Philadelphia? Talk about a historic area of the American Revolution! Independence National Historical Park houses many of the most historic buildings of the Revolutionary War.
You can’t miss Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were created and signed, the Liberty Bell, Carpenter’s Hall, the Betsy Ross House, the Bishop White House, Christ Church, The National Constitution Center and so many more places.
You can take a carriage ride or just walk the area. Lest you think there’s nothing for the kids to get a break from all the history in Philadelphia, just take them to the Franklin Institute Science Museum (IMAX and “the Heart”), and the Please Touch Museum, just to name two.
You could go out to see nearby Valley Forge where the Continental Army endured the difficult and harsh winter of 1777-78.
Finally, if you want to pay homage to our fallen heroes there are two places I strongly recommend, each with many other wonderful places to visit in nearby areas. Each one is the final resting place of many to whom we owe a great national debt of gratitude.
On the east coast of the country, just outside of Washington DC, is the Arlington National Cemetery; the Tomb of the Unknowns, The Iwo Jima Memorial, the final resting place of two presidents and eight Supreme Court Justices, among thousands of other courageous souls.
The other, in our most western state, Hawaii, is Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. Visiting the Arizona was one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had.
So today, this Memorial Day, while you’re on vacation, or planning one, don’t loose sight of what Memorial Day is really all about.
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