I didn't really take too many pictures of the museum while we were in Canberra; but I decided I probably ought to show what I did take-- especially because Mom has an affinity for old war movies & the like.
Also, Jeff, one of the American guys that I live with, said that the war museum in Canberra is supposed to be one of the world's two best. I wouldn't really know the difference, though, as I'm not a connoisseur of such things. Mostly being there just reaffirmed for me how much of a pacifist I am.
Seeing the Tribute to the Unknown Soldier was pretty cool, though. In my theater class, I read the dedication speech given upon the memorial's opening; so actually getting to see this place that I'd read about was pretty special. The memorial's set up to look like a religious sort of building as well-- a mosque or a synagogue-- so being in there felt almost holy. Sacred.
Hannah, one of the girls in my theater classes, said that what gets her most about the monument is the empty plaques reserved for the names of future veterans.
For me, it was the coins scattered along the bottom of the fountain located just outside the memorial building. I wondered how many of them bore wishes for peace. And I've been wondering why we make wishes-- about the futility of casting aside our spare change for impossible hopes. But I did it too. Five cents stranded to the bottom of a fountain.
Luke said, "I wonder how often they clean this thing out."
People are always saying things like that.
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