Compassionate Sailor

On Saturday, June 29, I took a stroll through DC, from the Congressional to Georgetown and back. I stopped many times to admire the scenery.

I stopped at the Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Ave. NW about halfway between the Capitol and the White House. Admiral Thompson once remarked that to a passerby, the Memorial is easy to miss, but once you stop and observe, it engulfs you in its grandeur. At the entrance is a flag pole with all of the Navy signal flags in one place. The ground is an exact map of the world's oceans, symbolizing the reach of the world's largest navy. Surrounding the site are two fountain pools. On the fronts of the fountain pools are bronze bas-reliefs that show everything from naval doctors and submarine operations, to Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Revolutionary War, and Navy SEALS. At 38°53′39″N 77°1′23″W a bronze statue called The Lone Sailor watches over the Memorial, with his bags packed at his side. It was very serene to sit and watch the countless service members walking through with their families.

At one point, a homeless man was sleeping at the foot of the soldier. A man in his Navy uniform, his wife (I assume), and his two small children came through and were having a picnic. For no reason, the homeless man stood and began to yell expletives at the sailor and said he was going to kill the sailor. The sailor took his own sandwich, and gave it to the homeless man. I saw that his children were watching their father intently, no doubt learning compassion by example. I was touched by the gesture, and realized that this man (and indeed his family) had served defending that homeless man's freedom. This sailor had done enough in defense of our country, but he had such compassion that he was willing to offer sustenance to a man who had just yelled obscenities in the presence of his children.

So proud to be an American!

The Lone Sailor

I tried to take a picture of the map on the ground.
Instead, I got this O. Go Bucks!

--
Travis