This day would be spent traversing Virginia and some very interesting sites. The morning began in the historic city of Richmond and the mammoth Hollywood City Cemetery. Two presidents are buried here -- James Monroe and John Tyler. Their monuments are both quite modest really and no special signs indicate their presence if you do not know they are present. The one to the left is for our fifth president James Monroe and the obelisk marks the final resting plalce for John Tyler. I contrast these with Abraham Lincoln that I blogged about back in May.
This large cemetery also is the final resting place of Jefferson Davis, who served as the president of thh defunct Confederacy. His marker is more ornate and the inscription placed there by his wife is interesting in that it seems to justify his actions against his country - an attempt to make him a heroic figure who was really right while all others including Lincoln were wrong but he just happened to be on the losing side. Again when visiting Southern Civil War sites, you often would have no clue which side one or lost the conflict and this is just not typical of other sites from the sides that have lost in conflicts.
The cemetery has a very large section containing Confederate war dead and a large stone pyramid marks this section. The pyrmaid is massive and unmistakeable; again you will not find US flags here but Confederate national flags and some of the famous "Stars and Bars" which is actually a military battle flag not the flag of the Confederate government. 
This section honors those who died at Gettysburg.
And finally a moving tribute to the cadets of John Marshall Academy who gave their lives in service in World War II. And the only US flags in this entire section of the cemetery.
From the cemetery I drove down Monument Road in Richmond which was designed as a grand entryway into the city from the West and as the name implies contains large monuments honoring key Virginians. It starts on one end with a spectacular equestrian statue of JEB Stuart. The next cross street provides a view of the stunning commemoratoin of Robert E. Lee.
The next cross street (really roundabouts) contains a memorial to Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy. 
Finally at the next intersection is a tribute to Stonewall Jackson. Interestingly, the statues of Stuart and Jackson, who both died in the war, face north, while Lee faces South. 
I next headed across town to the modern Virginia State War Memorial that honors those from the state who served in the wars of the 20th century. This contemporary site is undergoing major renovations but still is impressive. The hall contains a moving tribute to the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of those who have been lost entitled "Memory." The glass walls contain the etched names of Virginians who died in World War II, Korea and Vietnam with spillover onto the marble walls opposite; here also are included those lost in the Persian Gulf War. Again, we tend to think the casualties from the Persian Gulf were so small but I have already seen several that contain several names each. 
From Richmond I now headed to a place I had always wanted to visit -- Monticello, the home of President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was such an enigmatic character and thinker and his life and words helped shape our early nation. His home is very unique like the man and it sits on a majestic piece of property on top of a large hill (mountain). No pictures are allowed inside the home so nothing from there but I have provided a feel for the location. 
The gardens and flowers abound here and represent some of what Jefferson himself grew or tried to grow.
The gardens and flowers abound here and represent some of what Jefferson himself grew or tried to grow.
Watch the brief video below by clicking on the play button.
I also walked down past the Jefferson burial site and the family cemetery. Again the burial site is modest although the obelisk was not the original marker that marked the burial site of the third president. This plaque explains the history of the cemetery. 
I still had three more stops this day before I was done so off I went now toward Lynchburg. Here among the downtown area (I had to drive by twice to actually find it), sits an unsual memorial. The city of Lynchburg has created a memorial up and down a large hill within the city -- it is in effect "stacked". As you stand at the bottom there is a memorial to WWI and then you begin a long climb up stairs to the top. Along the climb, are plateaus with tributes to different conflicts. 
Looking up toward my climb to the top.
Next was the tribute to WWII.
Next was Korea.
Then Vietnam.
And finally at the top of course is the tribute to the veterans of the Confederacy.
Whew! That was a climb but I loved the unusual layout of this downtown memorial and the view both up and down. 
I now jumped back into my car and headed for a site I really wanted to see - the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. You may ask why little Bedford? Well tiny Beford with a population in 1941 of around 3200 lost 21 of its young men on the first day of the D-Day invasion and 19 within the first 15 minutes, all out of a total of 35 who were serving. The whole site honors the courage, honor and sacrifice of all those who served. Unfortunately, I arrived 15 minutes after the site had officially closed and was told no admission ticket would be sold. I had seen an older gentlemen manning the entry gate however and so I decided to go explain my work and ask if I could just have a few minutes to drive up and take a few pictures for my research. He was a real sweetie and sent me on up, telling me that the manager was on site and he could be in trouble but thought my project was admirable. Sure enough as I drove up to the key point of the memorial and jumped out to take some pictures, a gentlemen drove up in a pickup truck. This was was the Facilities Site Manager, Martin Leamy an Army veteran of the Persian Gulf and Bosnia himself, who clearly was on his way home on this late Sunday afternoon. When I explained my project and research, his face lit up and he began to tell me all the details of the site! He paused for a moment and told me that he would go get a golf cart and give me the full tour and that we did! 
I was now afforded my own personal tour of this magnificent site and he even turned on the water effects so I could photograph the memorial in all its splendor. He explained all the meaning and symbolism of each aspect of the site and his personal passion for this memorial brightened the tour. I was so impressed and just kept snapping pictures while enjoying all of the information.
On one side of the magnificent arch, the memorial replicates the landing on the beaches and the Ranger climb of Pont du Hoc. A landing craft has just unloaded soldiers who now attempt to make it ashore; one is helping a wounded comrade and another has fallen. The fallen soldier's Bible is visible near his helmet; for a number of those soldiers who were killed as they came ashore, the tides took their remains out to sea and only their personally inscribed Bible remained to identify them; such was the case for one of the local "Bedford Boys".
The site also contains a circle around the beach area with plaques with the names of all those both from the US and other nations, who lost their lives on D-Day. This is the only site in the world that pays tribute to all of those who fell on this historic day. 
This site is just loaded with information and commemorations and please visit their website at http://www.dday.org/
The separate units that particapated in the landings have plaques and a small scout airplane is also displayed. There are numerous statutes including of all of the heads of state form WWII as well as all the major military leaders. The memorial sits on the highest spot of land in Bedford and provides a commanding site. 
Please click on theshort film section below to view part of my tour and hear Mr. Leamy as well as the great water features that simulate the ocean as well as have the effect of small arms fire hitting the water around the soldiers fighting to come ashore.
I must say this was also quite a wonderful site when I could look back on my recent trip to Normandy where I was able to visit the actual site of these landings and see the unit memorials located there and walk the beach.
I felt terrible that I needed to get back on the road now as I could have stayed and visited and learned more about this great national monument, but I still needed to visit Lexington before driving over to Lewisburg, West Virginia and I was already not going to arrive until 9:00pm or later. So I waved goodbye and headed off across the Blue Ridge Parkway to Lexington -- again this was a gorgeous drive although a little difficult at times with sun often directly in my eyes and on a small, winding mountain road. I still managed to snap some photos though!
My last stop of the day was Lexington, Virginia. I stopped by the Stonewall Jackson burial site and family cemetery. Jackson's burial site is marked by an elegant statue facing South and surrounded by the graves of about 100 Confederate soldiers.
I then drove into town and the Washington and Lee Campus, home of the Robert E Lee Memorial Chapel which was undergoing some construction and did not have any lights inside so tough for pictures. Nearby is the Virginia Military Institute and I managed to find my target in this very confusing campus! Roads appear to be alleys sometimes but a very nice older gentlemen out for a walk on this lovely evening pointed to the area around the parade grounds that houses the memorial to the VMI cadets who lost their lives in the Civil War. Until just a few year's past, the area behind the statue actually had headstones; these were recently remved and just the flat markers remain.
This had been a very long and very productive day! I was on the road for about 12 hours after the previous day of about 14 hours so I pulled into Lewisburg, West Virginia tired but pleased with my work and ready for a break. This had really been the last "working" day of my trip. I had scheduled myself a little treat for the next day.
