Today was the 70th Anniversary of the surrender of the Germans in WWII. The United States Park Service Service and the Friends of the WWII Memorial co-hosted a great service to mark the date. I watched part of the ceremony at the WWII Memorial on live web cast. The speeches were good if not overly memorable. At an early point I thought they had omitted the Russians as allies, but that was because they were introducing a particular set of guests. Later they did a formal roll call of all the allies including the Russians. Many of the allies nations were represented by officials or attaches and veterans from that country. It was very appropriate and moving event. I felt like I was experiencing VE for the first time.
Once the ceremony ended, many of my coworkers and I headed outside to watch the planned fly over. About 56 WWII vintage airplanes flew over the Capital. From my vantage point on the ground just south of the Capitol Building, it was tough to get good photos. That was because the planes flew right over my head and I was shooting (photos not guns) into their shadowed underbellies. Still I got a few nice shots to remind me of the event.
Next time they do this, they should also have a parade with soldiers and ground vehicles.
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