The statue, sometimes called the Iwo Jima Statue – but formally named the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial – in Arlington, Va., is one of America’s most visible and poignant places to reflect on the multitudes of service members who gave their lives for their country. The memorial, located just outside Arlington National Cemetery, is based on an award-winning photo of six Marines raising the American flag on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945, during World War II.

Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, has become the unofficial start of summer vacation, and AAA estimates that nearly 45 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home that weekend. Some of those travelers will have thought-provoking destinations on their itineraries to mark Memorial Day itself.

First among many

This small cemetery is the oldest intact Civil War monument in the nation. The Hazen Brigade Monument was erected in 1863, just six months after the Battle of Stones River outside Murfreesboro, Tenn., when the outcome of the war remained uncertain. It honored the fallen of the 9th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Image by Tom Adkinson

The placing of flags

Youth and leaders in Scouting America place American flags at military cemeteries across the nation every Memorial Day weekend. This team is at the Nashville National Cemetery, just north of downtown Nashville in the suburb of Madison. Among those interred or memorialized here are three recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor from the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, and the Korean conflict. Image from the Middle Tennessee Council of Scouting America. Image by Tom Adkinson

A flame for eternity

Jacqueline Kennedy lit the eternal flame on the grave of her husband, President John Kennedy, at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C., in 1967. It burns from the center of a five-foot circular granite stone at the head of the grave. Mrs. Kennedy was laid to rest next to President Kennedy in 1994. Image from Arlington CVB

Uncommon valor

“Uncommon valor was a common virtue” is one of the inscriptions on the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Va. The history of the Marine Corps predates the Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress established the force on Nov. 10, 1775, as tensions rose between England and the colonies. Image by Tom Adkinson

The formerly enslaved who served

A group of Scouts assembles at a statue of a member of the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), the Black soldiers who served in the Union army during the Civil War. USCT regiments, whose stories often are overlooked, accounted for almost 200,000 soldiers in 175 units. That represented almost 10 percent of the army’s manpower. This statue is in the Nashville National Cemetery in Tennessee. Image from the Middle Tennessee Council of Scouting America

Cycling through hallowed grounds

Rolling through one of the Civil War’s critical engagements is a quiet way to contemplate the realities and sacrifices of war. These cyclists are rolling through the Chickamauga Battlefield, part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park that occupies portions of Georgia and Tennessee. Union and Confederate veterans gathered here in 1889 to reflect on the battle’s 34,000 casualties. Their efforts led to the establishment of America’s first official military park. Image by Tom Adkinson

Remembering ‘the Great War’

The urge to remember the devastation of World War I forever led to the creation of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. In 1919, immediately after the war, the citizenry raised $2.5 million in 10 days, an amount that would be approximately $50 million today. President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the Liberty Memorial in 1926. Image by Tom Adkinson


(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available on Amazon.com.)