Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial dedication

Today was the dedication ceremony of the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial on the corner of Constitution Ave and 23rd St NW in Washington, DC.  I went to see it and took some photos.

There were a few thousand people there, more than I expected.  Most of them were in a field across the street from the memorial watching it on a huge video screen.  As you might expect, lots of veterans were in attendance.

Here's a shot of the crowd with the Lincoln Memorial in the background.  You know most of those people are going to want to walk through the memorial too.

It's not a party unless the bagpipes show up.  After the ceremony they played for people waiting in line.

I got in line for the memorial before the ceremony ended so was able to get in fairly quickly.  All these people were in front of me though.  When I left the line looked just as long as when I started.

The first thing we walked by when entering was this bas-relief sculpture. It depicted aircraft, soldiers, tanks, and more from the conflict.

The memorial is a plaza with a fountain in the center surrounded by curved walls.