Over Spring Break, six students and three sponsors visited Washington D.C. for five days. Seniors Brody Jinkens, Ty McEachern, Maggie Halverson, and Leslie Lopez along with juniors Hudson Feely and Edan Chasteen accepted the opportunity to go on the trip that was funded by private donations and fundraising by the students and sponsors. These students are part of the Gifted and Talented program at Okeene Public Schools. Gifted and Talented sponsor Tahnya Hursh led the trip and were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Shane Feely to aid as chaperones. Landmark Tours provided an outstanding local guide to help the group make the most of their time in D.C.
In five days, the group walked over 40 miles and saw almost every major monument in the D.C. area which was blooming with cherry blossoms and dogwoods. The trip included the following sites:
The White House Visitor's Center, White House photo opportunity, The Smithsonian's Renwick Art Gallery, Arlington National Cemetery including the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, The Smithsonian Museum of American History, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Pentagon City Mall, a night tour of the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and World War II Memorial, Ford's Theatre and the house where he died, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial at the Tidal Basin, US Capitol, Supreme Court, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Chinatown, The National Archives, and the Library of Congress
Day 1 Gifted and Talented Washington DC Trip!!! The day started by leaving Okeene at 2AM in the morning to catch a Red Eye flight out of OKC. We caught a connecting flight in St. Louis and landed in DC at 11:00AM. First order of business was to teach the students how to use the Metro (subway) to get to the hotel. The first day was packed with activities including: The White House Visitor's Center, White House photo opportunity, The Smithsonian's Renwick Art Gallery, and dinner at Hill Country BBQ. We also stumbled onto a street that was being shut down for a Presidential Motorcade. Came within 20 feet of President Biden speeding by in the motorcade.
Full Day for sure, but more to come.
Day 2 of our G & T trip to Washington DC took us to several sites: Arlington National Cemetery, The Smithsonian Museum of American History, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Pentagon City Mall, and a night tour of the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and World War II Memorial. “Live a life worth their sacrifice” has been our theme for this school year. Today’s experiences were a moving connection to our school theme.
Ronald Reagan: Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price….Those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look….Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.
Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam.
Under one such marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.
We're told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, ''My Pledge,'' he had written these words: ''America must win this war. Therefore I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.''
Day 2 Part II: Day 2 was full to say the least. The group walked 12 miles on that day alone and covered a lot of topics and sites. After Arlington National Cemetery, the group traveled to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, then the United States Holocaust Museum and Memorial. Here are just a few pics of that day.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. - Martin Neimoller
Day 2 Night Tour: The group traveled to the Big Four (WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial) for a night tour on Day 2. During our trip to the Vietnam Memorial, we were able to locate Donald Yearout's name on the wall. Donald was a graduate of Okeene High School and lost his life in Vietnam.
Engraved at the World War II Memorial: THE WAR’S END
TODAY THE GUNS ARE SILENT. A GREAT TRAGEDY
HAS ENDED. A GREAT VICTORY HAS BEEN WON. THE SKIES
NO LONGER RAIN DEATH – THE SEAS BEAR ONLY COMMERCE –
MEN EVERYWHERE WALK UPRIGHT IN THE SUNLIGHT.
THE ENTIRE WORLD IS QUIETLY AT PEACE. - Gen Douglass McArthur
Day 3: Action packed with stops at the US Holocaust Memorial, Ford's Theatre, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, and Thomas Jefferson Memorial at the Tidal Basin. These were all super moving tributes to some of the best of us. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." Martin Luther King Jr. - Alabama, 1963
Day 4: The day started with a tour of the US Capitol. The Rotunda was beautiful and full of our shared history. We followed that up with a visit to the Supreme Court. We didn't get to go in because they were in session on that day. Witnessed a group of people at a peaceful rally discussing copyright law. We also saw the Fox News Supreme Court correspondent getting ready for a live report. Next up was a trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum where we saw the Hope Diamond as well as the Selenite Crystal from The Great Salt Plains salt flats. We finished the day with a meal at the Yardhouse in Chinatown.
Day 5: Started the day out at the Washington Monument. Our tour guide had our tickets ready and we didn't wait very long in line. What a view of the city from 500 feet above ground level. Our group then moved to the National Archives where we got to see the Magna Carta (The Great Charter), The Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. These are the most foundational documents of our republic. What a great experience. Before flying home, we also visited the Library of Congress. The beauty in the architecture is second to none. We could view the reading room and Thomas Jefferson's personal library which was sold to the US government to replace the collection that was burned by the British in 1812.