We then

headed on to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Many a

tear was shed as we walked through, gazing at the

pictures, listening to the stories, and reading all about

the tragedies that took place during the reign of Hitler.

We were

each given an identification card booklet before the

tour. In it contained a picture of a Jewish person or one

of Deutsche decent. You read about the young life of this

person on the first page while on the fourth floor.

As you

travel through the floors from fourth down to the first,

you read another page, one for each floor, until you

reach the last floor and the last page. This is where you

learn the fate of your person. These were real people,

real pictures and their life stories. Some of ours lived

and emigrated to America, but most were shot and killed,

gassed, beat to death or died from disease. The booklets

were ours to keep as a reminder.

Then it was

on to the American History Museum where we walked around

viewing all the gowns of all the first ladies, the

inventions of Alexander Bell and Thomas Edison, Dorothy's

red slippers from the Wizard of Oz and so much more. We

saw the original Star-Spangled Banner, which is being

resewn. It takes up a huge room by itself. There was so

much to see, we could have spent a whole day there.

Next, we

went down the street to the Natural History Museum and

were amazed seeing a giant squid, the insect zoo, native

cultures, ice age, fossil mammals, the Hope diamond and

many other intriguing exhibits.

The

Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights was our

next stop, where we learned that the Declaration of

Independence was written on parchment paper made from

goat and sheep skin. The whole exhibit is guarded 24

hours a day. At night, it is lowered into a six-foot

thick, steel and concrete vault, 22 feet down into the

earth. This vault weights 55 tons. The documents are

covered with four layers of thick filtered glass. The

vault could withstand even a nuclear attack. It was

amazing to see.

We then

went to the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I can't begin to

tell you how we felt as we walked, read and felt the

statues and the thousands of names carved in stone. It

put a knot in our throat. Then we drove up Embassy Row,

also viewing the cathedral. Getting back to the hotel

late again, we showered and went straight to bed.

For our

last day, it was breakfast at Planet Hollywood. Then to

the White House where we saw the Oval Office, the Blair

House and a statue of Andrew Jackson. We then drive to

the Marine Corps War Memorial, where we drove slowly

around the statue and it appeared the flag was being

raised. Here we also learned much information about WWII

and Iwo Jima.

Then on to

Arlington Memorial Cemetery, where we participated in the

laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers,

where it read, "Here rests in honored glory an

American soldier known but to God." We watched the

changing of the guards and learned that it takes six

months of training before they can guard the tomb.

Before they

are even considered for training, there are certain

guidelines that have to be met first. They have to be

within a certain weight, height, and chest size. Their

body has to be built a certain way, their foot has to be

a certain size and their waist should be 31 inches, no

more and no less. They guard in 30-minute increments,

taking 21 paces and pausing 21 seconds for the entire

30-minute guard.

We stood

respectfully, taking it all in. We were fascinated seeing

the eternal flame where John F. Kennedy and his family

were buried.

I am so

grateful to have been able to take this journey with my

daughter. When I attended Fayette County schools, we did

not have the opportunities that children have today, to

go on class trips such as this. I enjoyed this trip as

much as the students and I learned things that I never

knew before.

It also

prepared the students to study Washington when they get

to the eighth grade. They will be more knowledgeable and

interested in their studies because they will remember

the things from this trip.

Please call

the board of education and voice your opinions today, or

students.

Debbie

Mathews

Fayetteville