# Visiting the Wall



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

January 21, 2008

*Career Survival*
with Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith 
*Visiting the Wall *

My husband and I travel a lot for business, and one of the benefits of business travel is all those frequent flyer miles and hotel points. As we were looking at all the free plane tickets and hotel stays we've accumulated over the past year, my husband suggested we use some of them to take our youngest daughter to Washington, DC in the fall. She'll be fourteen by then and hasn't been to our nation's capital since the DARE conference I took her to when she was five. What a great opportunity to further her education and spend a little quality family time together during a vacation that doesn't involve scary rides that make me nauseous! We booked our travel and then, control freak that I am, I started to meticulously plan out our four days in DC. 
My first stop was the book store. I grabbed a stack of Washington DC travel guides and sat down to decide which one was the most comprehensive before making my purchase. I looked at _Washington DC for Dummies_, _Frommer's Washington DC 2008_, _The Unofficial Guide to Washington DC_, and _The Everything Family Guide to Washington DC _to name just a few. I thumbed through each one and then went right to the back index to find out what each one had to say about the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. After all, I'm excited to show my daughter "our wall" now that she's old enough to appreciate it, and I was curious to read the glowing write-ups in each of the travel guides. I imagined our family walking past the reflection pool before entering the pathways of remembrance. I look forward to explaining to my daughter the purpose of the lion statues and the engraved Bible verse _"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are as bold as a lion."_ I want her to see the rose over the shield and touch the words "In Valor There is Hope," and then see the amazing tribute to the more than 18,000 law enforcement officers who have paid the ultimate price while serving their communities; all those names, all those departments, all those heroes. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is one of the most moving, most beautiful sites in all of DC, so I knew each travel book would surely dedicate several pages to it&#8230;_wouldn't they? _

_Full Article: _ http://www.policeone.com/police-heroes/articles/1652619/


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## Guest (Jan 21, 2008)

Most of the public see us as a necessary evil. They love us when they need us, hate us when we pull them over. The wall is a great take I recommend it for anyone visiting DC


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## Guest (Jan 21, 2008)

Definately on my list of places to see............


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## Guest (Jan 21, 2008)

Sniper said:


> Definately on my list of places to see............


A very powerful experience, especially if you knew some of the names engraved on the wall.


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## Mitpo62 (Jan 13, 2004)

An officer I went to the academy with and worked next to in Florida, killed in the line of duty in the summer of '93, is on that wall along with a family member who died in Taunton almost 13 years ago. Yes indeed, that wall is very moving. A touching tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.


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## pahapoika (Nov 5, 2006)

went a few years ago during Law Enforcement Week and the Metro guys were the best.

too many names on that wall , but the folks in charge of that ceremony did a great job.


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