National Museum of the Marine Corps

This museum, located near Quantico, Virginia, displays a extensive history of the US Marines Corps.  It features static and  multimedia displays of the story of Marines from the founding of America to current conflicts and from boot camp to a recruit becoming a member of the corps.

Visitors walk past a bus that delivers raw recruits, listen to a drill sergeant issue stern orders and follows the procedure of building a Marine.  Well-crafted replicas of battles from WWI through current conflicts are featured.  Videos, recordings, dioramas and actual implements provide the feeling of battle.  Our view was less that this museum is a boasting of wars won and more to give the visitor a sense of the tension, fears and loss that are the true nature of battles.  The depiction of   the WWI Belleau Forest battle is an excellent example of the cost of decisions made by officers and of the travails faced on the battlefield  where over 1,000 men died in  a  fruitless charge..

This Model T, donated by three women to the Marine Corps, was the only motorized vehicle the Marines had in WWI.    It carried ammunition and supplies to the troops and evacuated the wounded.

The museum tells the dark side of the Marines with the military’s reluctance to have African Americans and women serve.  Further on in the museum, where today’s fighters are shown, all members of American society are welcome if they can survive the extreme demands of qualifying for the Corps.

This 37 star flag was flown after the Civil War.

This M4 Sherman Tank was part of the equipment of the Pacific Theater of WWII.

The section on Chosun in the Korean War was chilled so that visitors could have a hint of the conditions fighting there.

This Ontos vehicle was rejected by the Army but used successfully by the Marines for street-to-street fighting in Hue, Vietnam.

This re-creation, located near the gift shop, of raising the flag over Iwo Jima is made of Legos.

The President’s Own, the Marine Corps Band, was so designated by Thomas Jefferson.  In 1873 a Washington newspaper said it was “eminently the national band of the country.”  While a small number of members are Marines, most of the band members are professional musicians who serve in the band for four years.  John Phillips Sousa led the band to its current acclaim.  This is THE band designated to perform Hail to the Chief at presidential inaugurations.  (Rain prevented our attending a Memorial Day performance of the band.)

After our visit to the museum we spent a lovely evening with Anna Lee’s cousins, Conne and Mark.   We had a delicious dinner and then a tour of the senior community they recently moved into.

 

Bennett is Five

Sunday was a break from all the birthday stuff.  We all went out for dim sum then, while the men idled about at home, Cheryl and Anna Lee went to a coffeeshop for a meeting of Cheryl’s book club.  We discussed The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry which Anna Lee’s book club at home had read a while ago.  We had a fun time with the book.  While there, another friend of Cheryl’s stopped by our table.  He and I had a small world connection.  Tom is the nephew of Marge, a friend of ours from home.

The afternoon was filled with entertainment.  Bennett and the ladies enjoyed Peter and Wolf at the Kennedy Center while the men claimed to enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy at a local theater.

Monday was Bennett’s official b’day.  We all went to school for cake and then out to dinner.

Bennett’s class previously had gone to the Kusama exhibit (see May 18 blog post) and then they created this tribute to the artist.

Bennett’s request for hot dogs for his birthday dinner didn’t work out because the restaurant had closed down so he had to settle for a giant milk shake and a burger.

Cheryl had to have a TV dinner (old story from her brother’s childhood, let us know if you want to hear it).

That evening Bennett had round two of present opening.  Star Wars, Hot Wheels and Legos dominated but games and books were also out in force.

He certainly needed this Star Wars suitcase from his grandparents to carry his gifts upstairs.

These two books had to be read before bedtime.  He laughed as he read some of the words in Bark George.

Bubbie was startled by the lightsaber

(We omitted these photos from post-b'day party, sorry). Bennett and Uncle Jeff built with his new Legos and worked on a puzzle.

Later he played a penguin game with Zadie.

He certainly found becoming five very rewarding.

What a haul.

May Birthdays

May is birthday month for many in our family.  Anna Lee and her cousin Barbara enjoyed dinner out to celebrate their birthdays.  Bennett joined the celebration.

The big birthday was Bennett’s.  He is now five and had quite a busy birthday weekend.  He started with his party in Rock Creek Park.  Friends and family shared the event.

Cousins Howard and Alan attempted badminton.

Uncle Bang-bang, aka Jeff came down from NY.  He and Alan discussed engineering classes.

The guests enjoyed playing in the sand near the creek.

and chasing each other while their parents chatted.

A face painter turned the children into their desired creation

Cousins Barbara and Bob provided the luscious cake from The Night Kitchen in Philadelphia.  Nary a crumb was left.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Tickets to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture are hard to come by because of the great demand to visit this long-overdue institution.  It is the first new Smithsonian museum in ten years.  Fortunately Cheryl was able to get us six tickets (by getting on line at 8 am her time which is 5 am our time).  We needed six tickets because Jackie from home and members of her family joined us.  By getting there about 10 am we were able to go right in though as we toured the museum it became more crowded.

The museum was designed by David Adjaye with Philip Freelon the lead architect.  It is three tiers of inverted half-pyramids.  The exterior pattern of the bronze-hued screen is based upon ironwork created by freed slaves in New Orleans and Charleston.

Jackie and her family with us.

The museum presents an in depth history of slavery not from the viewpoint of historians but from that of those who lived and struggled during the centuries of slavery and of those who contributed to the construction and culture of our country.  Many of the artifacts on display were contributed or loaned by individuals throughout our country.

We started on the lowest floor where we learned of the thriving communities in Africa and of the early trade between African nations and European nations.  That trade went from produce to people and led to slavery in America.

Queen Nzingha of Ndougo, Kongo traded with European nations in order to fight off the Portuguese efforts to increase slave trade and control central Africa..

Displays told of the conditions of slavery and of the many uprisings that tried to end it.  Personal comments by slaves, slave-owners and those involved in the slave trade are posted throughout the exhibit.  One prominent man said he opposed slavery but knew he could not  live without his sugar and rum.

A few African Americans gained the freedom.  This is the one room home of a freeman.

While this auction block symbolizes slavery

 this scarf given to Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria symbolizes freedom.

The Civil Rights era is shown in both protest and culture.  Exhibits of George Wallace stand near those of the first television shows featuring African American performers.  A segregated rail car is not yet open for viewing.

An actual aircraft used for training of the Tuskegee airmen during WWII still flies above the crowd.

We all enjoyed lunch from the highly-rated museum cafeteria.  This is large museum with a long and important story to tell that cannot be seen in one visit.  We all need to return later to see exhibits on this continuing story.

Washington, DC

We left the RV in storage in Denver when we all flew out, Cheryl, Dave and Bennett to El Paso to spend time with Dave’s family and Jerry and Anna Lee to start a few week trip in DC.  We began our adventures with what was to be a volkswalk and tour of the European Embassies.  Each spring, during our visit here, the embassies hold an open house and we have always had something that prevented us from visiting them.  This year we were determined to do the tour and even made plans to be with Jackie, our friend from home, and her sister-in-law.  Well, the lines to the embassies were hundreds of people and hours long.  We went into two of them and found the whole thing rather disappointing so we found a better idea.  Lunch.  We ate well and had enjoyable conversation, a day well spent.

Jackie, Billie and Anna Lee outside the Portugal Embassy

 We were treated to dancers outside of Greece

Mother’s Day we faced more lines but, wow, what a reward.  The Hirshhorn Gallery on the Mall had an exhibition of Yayoi Kusama’s work.  Kusama is a Japanese artist whose genre can be easily described as painting dots, millions of dots.  Her work is challenging, beautiful and breathtaking. This is one of the few solo extensive exhibits of the work of a woman artist and it exceeded expectations on attendance.  We have to thank Dave for volunteering at the exhibit, it was the only way for us to get these highly demanded, and free, tickets. 

Her photo

Kusama has made sculptures

but is best known for her Infinity Rooms, small rooms lined with mirrors and filled with circular or tubular objects.  Viewers enter each room two or three at a time, hence the long lines.  You only get 20-30 seconds but it is dazzling.  Fortunately, the Hirshhorn allowed photographs of most of the exhibit so we gladly share a glimpse of what we saw.  

Souls of Millions of Light Years Away

Dots Obsession-Love Transformed into Dots

Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity

All the Eternal Love I Have for Pumpkins is a tribute to her family’s farm in Japan.

In the Obliteration Room visitors added dots to the walls, floor, furniture and other objects.

This exhibit heads out on a four-city tour including The Broad in Los Angeles the end of this year.  If you can see it, do so!  

After a brief respite, we went to see some of the permanent exhibit.

These Orchids are on the main floor..

Untitled

Window by Gerharrd Richter

Fish by Alexander Calder

 This car is parked in the entrance.