My girls are off of school for Veteran’s Day so last night we had a girls’ night out. We got our nails done and went to Friday’s for dinner. Here’s how pretty our hands look!
Today was such a special day!
Today is Veteran’s Day so we thought we would use the time for a little educational field trip.
It was a beautiful cool, sunny day in NC so we drove into downtown Raleigh and ate brunch at
Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant
Big Ed’s has great Southern food like biscuits and gravy, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, banana pudding, and grits. YUMMY!!
To walk off all the calories we consumed, we walked about a mile down the road to visit the Raleigh National Cemetery.
The grounds were beautifully maintained with numerous American flags flying. It was very serene as we walked through.
The cemetery, which is approximately 7 acres, was established in 1865 to provide burial grounds for the Union dead. Many of the Civil War soldiers buried there were killed at the end of the war. Their bodies were moved from other grave sites in the region to this cemetery.
As we walked through, we saw soldiers who fought in The Civil War, The Spanish American War, WW I, WW II, Korean and Vietnam War. A large number of the soldiers fought in two or more wars. We saw all different rankings. There are 547 unknown soldier grave sites. We also saw wives and children buried alongside their soldier.
We noticed pennies placed on a lot of the gravestones. We had no idea what it meant so when we got home I googled it.
“A coin left on a headstone or at the grave site is meant as a message to the deceased soldier’s family that someone else has visited the grave to pay respect. Leaving a penny at the grave means simply that you visited.”
There was even a small section apart from the rest of the cemetery dedicated to the fallen who had no remains.
We also read that there was a Medal of Honor recipient buried here so I googled it and it told us exactly where he was so we had to pay our respects.
Someone had placed an article about the hero and placed it at his grave site. When we got home, we read all about him. If you want to read he’s fascinating story, go here.
Walking through this place and remembering each of these soldiers, we couldn’t help but be reminded of the heroic sacrifices they each made for us and to be grateful for their dedication to our great country.
One of my favorite pictures of my father is of him in uniform. He was a medic in the Army during the Korean War. He never spoke about his time in the war and he died when I was thirteen years old so I never got to ask him about it. There’s so many questions I would have loved to have asked him.
And last but not least, I wanted to share a video with you. When Son #1 and Son #2 were in high school marching band together, one as a Senior and one as a Freshman, they marched in one of our favorite marching shows. Every time we watched them perform this show at football games and competitions, my heart swelled up with pride! Please take a few minutes to watch them play “The Secret Weapons over Normandy,” “Going Home,” “Taps,” and “America the Beautiful.” Son #1 has the trumpet solo at 7:10. Watch till the end because it will make you proud, or if you’re like me, make you cry!
GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR VETERANS!!
Love y’all,
Linda
That’s really wonderful Linda, what a heart touching performance. My father would love this.
Thanks Kathy! Our dads’ generation was really the “Greatest Generation”. Such respect for country and citizens. Very humble and selfless. ~Linda