The past few days I have been visiting our nations capital, I wish it was for fun but I am here for work.  When running my errands, I find myself walking past many of the amazing monuments in DC. Yesterday afternoon, I found myself close to the Vietnam Memorial, so I stopped by to pay my respects.

As I was walking towards the wall, I overheard a tour guide say, “There is a reason why the Memorial was placed away from the street. The people who built this didn’t want to dishonor the men and woman who died for our freedoms, by having a car just drive by and be a regular part of the landscape. This Memorial is a place of reflection, sadness and honor, and should treated as such.”

People are quite when they walk by the wall. They reach out to touch the names of our fallen. It’s a bit overwhelming – there are so many names. I found my Uncle Steve’s brother, George H. Chace. He is located in section E11, line 93. The park ranger asked me if I knew this person, I never met him before; he died in the war at the age of 23.  He gave me a piece of paper and pencil to do a rubbing of his name.

So why do I give thanks on this day (weekend)?  I am allowed to live in a country where I have the freedom to be the person I am today.  So many people have joined our armed forces to protect our freedom and our country, for hundreds of years. They have done so bravely and with much sacrifice.

So today I say, “Thank You.”  To my Dad, my Grandfathers , my little brother and my friends who all took a turn in the service and allowing me to live the life I have today.