In 1912, the Japanese gave the U.S. a gift of cherry trees. To this day, the blooming season of the cherry tree is so anticipated that there is a national Cherry Blossom Festival, a Cherry Blossom Web Cam and many tours arranged around March 21 April 15 of each year to enjoy the beautiful site. Those groups who travel to DC can visit the Womens Titanic Memorial on Water Street. The memorial is a man with outstretched arms leaning into the wind just like Leonardo DiCaprio did in The Titanic movie.

For groups with girls and women this is a must see. The memorial is dedicated to the men, women and children who lost their lives in the Titanic disaster.

Another monument that is thought provoking is the Peace Monument on Pennsylvania Avenue. This is a white marble figure of America weeping on the shoulders of History with an inscription that reads They died that their country might live. Groups who visit this monument will ponder those words and will sense the weight of their meaning. The monument is dedicated to Naval military who died during our Civil War but the words continue to echo through time as our country continues to fight for freedom.

Albert Einstein has his own 12 foot tall bronze memorial at the National Academy of Sciences. In one hand he holds a sheet of paper with his personal thoughts such as As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance, and equality of all citizens before the law prevail. This monument can be found near the Vietnam Memorial on Constitution Avenue. The memorial was placed to honor the centennial of Einsteins birth.

As your group travels the monument and memorial circuit in DC, be sure to visit the John Joseph Pershing Park Memorial. A man from Missouri answered the call to defend his country and because of his dedication and perseverance Black Jack as he was called, is the only person, while alive, to achieve the highest rank ever held in the United States Army General of the Armies. General Pershing is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The general and I attended the same University in Missouri, Truman State University (formerly known as First Missouri Normal School) in Kirksville, Missouri. Throughout the Show Me State there are many memorials to his patriotism and successes.

Where ever your travels take you, student or adult, be sure to visit the attractions, monuments, memorials and museums of that area. These memorials meant enough in someones life that they pursued funding, artistic abilities, licenses and historic correctness in order to forever preserve the meaning of the history of that specific time.

Monuments and Memorials allow younger generations, the understanding of how our country got to where we are today. Joining the past to the present and educating us about it all with these symbols in time. Enjoy your travels.

Vickie Dodson