I had an impromptu chat with a couple of ladies at the bar last evening and one posed the question “What’s the most impressive thing you’ve seen in San Antonio so far?” That’s a no-brainer: The Alamo.
While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.
“The Shrine of Texas Liberty.” And, of course, American liberty. Visiting the Alamo really is an emotional experience. Buck and I had a discussion night before last about the Alamo and we both tried, unsuccessfully, to name another American icon that is equal to the Alamo. The Statue of Liberty probably is close, but in our minds the Statue is a distant second.
I’ll digress briefly: one of my strongest childhood memories is of standing on the rail of the USNS Troopship (can’t remember the ship’s real name) as we sailed into New York harbor after being overseas for five years. I looked up at my Mom as the Statue of Liberty came into view and was surprised to see tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to explain, but could not. She simply said “We’re home.” That’s impact.
I didn’t see anyone crying while I was at the Alamo yesterday, but I will admit that I was close a couple of times. After I signed the guestbook I spent about five or six minutes thumbing through those pages, going back about a week. People from all over the world—Asia, Africa, Europe, South America—and from every state in America signed the guest book. Just reading the origins of the visitors impressed me. The Alamo is more than an American icon, it’s an international shrine to Liberty. The legend is known worldwide. That, too, my friends, is impact.
The Alamo does have impact especially for us Texans. Standing at the Vietnam Memorial Wall reading the names of the fallen or looking at the stars on the new WWII Memorial that represent the thousands of men killed in WWII have impact for me. I have never seen the Statue of Liberty, but some day...
ReplyDeleteThe Viet Nam memorial is impressive; I've not seen the WW II memorial (yet). I think the difference I was trying to identify or put my finger on is that the Alamo is where those heroes died. Right there. Peraps one gets a similar feeling at Gettysburg or any of the other Civil War battlefield memorials. I visited most of the Civil War places as a child, not as an adult, and didn't get that feeling I was trying to convey yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to comment on this post ever since you put it up, but every time I sit down to type, words fail me. I have been to the Alamo. I have also been to the San Jacinto battleground, The Vietnam Memorial, the Shiloah battleground, and there are a couple of Civil War battlegrounds right here in Grenada. None carry quite the impact that The Alamo does.
ReplyDeleteIn those other battles, in those other wars, those men were fighting for freedom, too. But they had a reasonable hope that they would survive to enjoy that freedom.
The men at the Alamo knew they were going to die. They knew they had no chance at victory. They knew that if they were taken prisoner, they would be executed. They knew, and yet still they stood and fought.
They knew they wouldn't enjoy the freedom they were fighting for. So why did they do it? They fought for their children and grandchildren. They fought for Texans everywhere. They fought for us. They fought for me.
I think that's why it moves me so.
Well said, Becky. "Against all odds..." yet they fought.
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