Posts Tagged memorial

Bye, bye, bin Laden

Supposedly, the death of Osama bin Laden will be one of those events where we remember exactly where we were when we heard the news. I was checking Facebook when I saw a post that said bin Laden had been killed.

How many of us thought we’d see bin Laden’s demise? He seemed the uncatchable criminal, but now he’s gone. The War on Terror isn’t over. Others will take on his role, but al Qaeda has been decapitated. But for now, we can celebrate Public Enemy No. 1′s departure.

Thank you to our servicemen and women, including intelligence operatives, around the world. This is your victory! Thank you.

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Ghosts of 9/11

Last weekend I watched lots of 9/11 retrospectives. I was fascinated by the stories the programs were telling, but yet I could only tolerate watching a certain amount before I had to turn away. Even now, nine years afterward, the events of that day are hard to comprehend. How could anyone be so evil, so cavalier with their lives and the lives of strangers? What kind of collective dementia causes such actions? I do not understand and I don’t want to understand.

I want to remember.

When Dad and I saw Ground Zero in January, I was shocked at the strength of my emotional response. After all, that horrible September Tuesday was nearly nine years past. But I felt the helpless rage and shock all over again. The sense of violation was very great. And I was nowhere near the Twin Towers, the Pentagon or that field in Shanksville, Pa. So far as I can tell, no one I know was directly affected by the atrocity committed on that day.

But every American was attacked that day.

When I began to process the above image, I was quite startled to see the ghostly skyscraper above the World Trade Center site. I hadn’t seen it when I shot it. Some have said they see faces in those clouds. Maybe. Whatever you see, the entire image is saying “Remember!”

Eleven Tears

Eleven American Express employees were killed in the World Financial Center across the street from the Twin Towers. I had no idea before I saw their lovely memorial in the WFC. The company memorialized their loss with this pool, Eleven Tears. The Brazilian crystal hangs from 11 wires. It has 11 facets. The pool has 11 sides, each side with an employee’s name inscribed, along with a quote in the pool itself. Water falls from the second-story ceiling into the pool, signifying the tears shed on that day.

Only the hard-hearted can look upon that huge tear-shaped crystal and not be moved.

Remember!

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I.M. Pei’s pavilion

I had a list of the top four places I wanted to visit in Boston:

1) John F. Kennedy Library and Museum

2) Adams National Historic Park

3) Freedom Trail

4) Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum

The Adams’ houses are closed during the winter, so I crossed that attraction off my list. Seeing only the visitors center left me cold. If the houses had been open, I would have seen Presidential sites for the first six Presidents. But this was not to be.

On our first day in Massachusetts, I headed for JFK’s Library. Since the library has free parking, I drove there, then hopped the transit system, or “T”, to Boston Common, where I picked up my Go Boston card at the welcome center. It was good at every attraction I desired to visit. Instead of standing in line to pay, I showed attraction staff my card and went right in. I hopped back on the T and returned to the library, which is now the furthest east I’ve ever been.

JFK Library and Museum building from its pier

When Jackie Kennedy was choosing a design for her late husband’s library, she chose I.M. Pei, then an unknown, as the architect. The tour starts with a showing of a film about JFK’s life, after which visitors are supposed to go downstairs to the museum exhibits, then end in the memorial pavilion. Somehow, I often don’t do things like other people do.

tour group in the pavilion

I must have exited a different door than the one leading to the exhibits because I ended up in the pavilion. Its only furnishings are some low benches. At 115 feet high, it dwarfs all humans entering. If the pavilion is intended to make visitors feel the weight of history and the brevity of life, it succeeds.

pavilion flag and ceiling

The flag, the room’s only decoration, is 45 feet by 26 feet. The space defines stark.

view of Atlantic Ocean from JFK Library's pavilion

The ocean only a few feet away saves the pavilion from unrelieved severity.

Boston skyline from JFK Library pavilion

JFK’s love of the ocean and of sailing was well known. Among other reasons, he said he loved it because of its changeability. The day I was there, the ocean and sky were nearly the same leaden color. The next day, the ocean was brilliant blue, although the skies continued to be overcast.

I could get addicted to seaside views.

For information on visiting JFK’s Library, go here.

This is my slide show from JFK Library:

Click on the link in the gallery or go directly to gallery here.

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Adams County Veterans Memorial

Adams County Civil War obelisk

Adams County Civil War obelisk

When I think about where Civil War monuments might be, I don’t think of Nebraska.

When I lived back east, it seemed that every city had a Civil War soldier perched on an obelisk in some prominent location. Whether their sympathies were Union or Confederate, town after town had raised the funds to memorialize its war dead and its living veterans.

Since Nebraska did not achieve statehood until March 1, 1867, two years after the Civil War concluded, it does not seem to be the most likely place to have Civil War monuments dotting the courthouse squares. Surprisingly, those monuments grace many places in Nebraska.

Even though its wartime population was tiny, just 28,841 in 1860, Nebraska did contribute three regiments, a battalion and two independent scout companies to the Union cause.

Old Adams County Courthouse with Civil War obelisk

Old Adams County Courthouse with Civil War obelisk

Most of those who were memorialized on these monuments did not serve in the Nebraska Civil War contingents. They moved in after the war to settle the new state. Those locations include Adams County, where I grew up, although I never knew it until last week. Originally, the obelisk stood in front of the courthouse, but was moved to Parkview Cemetery when a new courthouse was built in the early 1960s.

Union soldier above Grand Army of the Republic emblem

Union soldier above Grand Army of the Republic emblem

Few — if any — of the soldiers memorialized on the obelisk’s base served in any Nebraska regiment. They came from all over the country hoping to start a new life in a new state. But they did not leave the memory of their wartime service behind. They joined Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) posts and were a force in politics for many years.

Adams County, Neb., Veterans Memorial

Adams County, Neb., Veterans Memorial

Now the Hastings GAR obelisk is the centerpiece of a larger memorial to all Adams County veterans.

Maj. James Laird's grave marker

Maj. James Laird's grave marker

One of those veterans was Maj. James Laird, who served with the U.S. Volunteers in the Civil War. He was a Delegate to the 1875 Nebraska State Constitutional Convention and later served in as Nebraska’s Second District Representative in Congress from 1883 until his death in 1889. Even though he was politically successful in his later life, his grave marker has a decided martial air. It’s the most unusual grave marker I have ever seen.

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Granite mourner

mourner from behind

mourner from behind

Cemeteries are a place for mourning, obviously. I found this piece of funerary art particularly appropriate. All these tombstones represent a lot of cumulative grief.

mourning statue

mourning statue

When I went around to the side, I could not decide whether statue looked mournful, stressed out or simply had a headache. Of course, recent grief can give a person all of those.

What do you think?

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Just call me angel

tombstone angel

tombstone angel

Digital photography is very freeing. No more paying for film developing and printing (or digitizing) costs. I can shoot as many photos as I want and the only thing it costs is some hard drive space. This enables me to play around with different angles and perspectives. A cemetery is a wonderful place in which to play this way.

angel from another view

angel from another view

The first view of the angel seems neutral about humanity, but the second view seems like an Angel of Judgment. Symbols on Headstones Demystified says that angels in funerary art represent

The agent of God, often pointing towards heaven; guardians of the dead, symbolizing spirituality. Angels are shown in all types of poses with different symbolism. Two angels can be named, and are identified by the objects they carry: Michael, who bears a sword, and Gabriel, who is depicted with a horn.

Apparently, this angel is one of the nameless host.

angel silhouette

angel silhouette

This one makes me think of the angel who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds, although I’m not certain why I see it this way.

angel's face

angel's face

Here I focused on the angel’s face. It seems to be leaning down to decorate the person’s grave.

angel with hand in focus

angel with hand in focus

The angel seems to be dropping a leaf on the grave from a wreath in its hand.

I’m not sure which perspective I prefer. Any opinions?

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O death, where is thy victory?

Winged Victory of Samothrace replica

Winged Victory of Samothrace replica

Years ago in a photography seminar, the instructor said that cemeteries are wonderful places to photograph. I’ve driven by this one numerous times and had always found it interesting because of the funerary art I could see from the street.

This statue is a replica of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
I don’t know the donor’s rationale for erecting this statue where he did, but it certainly reminded me that the cemetery is not our final resting place. When I saw it, I immediately thought of the verse

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Cor. 15:55, King James Version)

Actually, I heard it as the music in Handel’s Messiah.

In the Bible, and in the Messiah, the answer comes a bit later:

 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57, King James Version)

No matter who you are, remember that your final destination is not a cemetery. That’s just where your body is headed. The real you lives forever. If you follow Christ, the eternal destination is eternal victory in Christ. If you don’t, well, you don’t want to go there.

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