A Day of Tributes and Tears
Sunday, May 30, 2004; Page A18
The Woman on the Bench
She sat on a bench near Metro Center, sobbing. Her eyes were ringed red, and a crumpled tissue was in her hand.
"I miss my father," Mary Morphew said.
His name was Weldon Bailey "Jack" Morphew, and he died in 1971. He was a farm boy from Oklahoma, a good Southern Baptist, a Seabee who helped build air bases for the Navy in World War II.
His daughter had no ticket to the dedication. It did not matter to her. "I just wanted to see the vets, really," said Morphew, a District resident. "The memorial is fine, but these are the guys who did all the work."
-- Jason Ukman
The Competing VIPs
The day's VIPs were in the shuttle from Metro Center. It wasn't moving. The mood was antsy.
Was it an accident, an occupant asked.
Too much congestion, another offered.
Finally, about 11 a.m. and after idling for nearly half an hour, the reason for the delay rolled by.
A Washington motorcade, or the Real VIP.
"It's one of the important people," said shuttle driver Sharmel Lyles.
"Can't you tell them there are important people here?" retorted Sue Spaulding of Derwood.
As a streak of black vehicles passed by, Anthony Loven, a Navy military police officer escorting the veterans, said, "I think it's the president."
"I don't care who it is," said the exasperated shuttle driver. "They're holding up traffic."
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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