I am going to be honest about something first, because it affects how I write about places like this. If I go to too many battlefields, they all start to feel the same. Visitor center, touring road, pullouts, interpretive signs, a field. I have done enough of them recently that they mush together in my memory, and I [...]
I went to Tuskegee in April 2026, and the reason I went had started more than a year before that. I had been paying attention to arguments about what belongs in the history we teach, and which parts of it quietly get trimmed. It sparked rage. And it took me a year to pull together a trip to go [...]
My experience I remember when they were talking about putting this memorial on the Mall. I think it was the first addition in a very long time, and it was quite a political debate about whether it would disrupt what was already there. And now when I walk around it and see hundreds and hundreds of people soaking [...]
My experience The Korean War Veterans Memorial is one I always forget about. And it is really one of the more beautiful spots on the Mall. On a recent visit I walked up and said to my friend, “Remind me what the Korean War was about?” Which led the two of us down a beautiful rabbit hole about [...]
My experience The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is probably one of the most visited spots on the National Mall. I always find it moving, especially at night. And the further you go into the story of what it means, the more touching it becomes. The names on the wall are in the order of their death. So as you [...]
