Yes, I think the children really got the message. They stayed very quiet even when it was time to leave .. not one of them spoke a word.
My visit in March of 2001, was a revisit from May of 1955, when as a high school graduate from upstate NY, the seniors took a trip to NYC and on to Wash. D.C. It was really fun for me because my mom had taken the exact same trip when she graduated from the same school.
I must admit a bias to the Grounds, as we have three family members buried there and my fiancee.
Having two full honor burials to see still brings chills and awe. Just thinking about the caparisoned horse makes me tear up.
If you can get to Arlington again, at the Fort Meyers entrance, you can tour the Old Guard stables ... and if you have kids of your own in tow ...they love it!
This past spring , my partner and I visited a friend who is stationed in DC. She was amazed at the sense of ‘spirit’ at Arlington. She told me it was one of the most emotional experiances of her life.
On the next day, while she visited with her friend (a USAF chaplain) I spent another entire day at Arlington. There is so much history.
The park may have been started to spite Gen Lee; But there is no place I know that demonstrates the sacrifices made by men and woman in the name of freedom.