Washington – Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to American servicemen and women with a trip to the National World War II Memorial on Tuesday, winding up her six-day U.S. visit.
Accompanied by former President George H.W. Bush, a veteran of the war, and his wife, Barbara, the queen placed a wreath in honor of the 400,000 U.S. forces who died. It said: “In memory of the glorious dead.” Afterward there was a drum roll, and a bugler played taps.
Dressed in a blue suit and hat, the queen then joined a park ranger for a walk around a fountain at the center of the memorial, stopping to look at the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument before veterans of the war, some in wheelchairs.
One of the veterans, Marjorie Gallun, 85, who said she served in the Marine Corps, told the queen: “We are happy to have you here.”
The queen politely replied: “We are happy to be here.”
Outside the memorial, there was a crowd of several hundred behind a picket fence, on which two Union Jacks were draped. The crowd applauded as the queen’s limousine went by.
It was the British monarch’s first visit to the war memorial, which was dedicated in 2004. The queen, a teenage princess during World War II, served her country in the war as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army.
She was to conclude her Washington visit by hosting a dinner for the Bushes at the British Embassy Tuesday night, a return favor for the state dinner Bush put on for the royal couple Monday night at the White House.
It was a full day of sightseeing in the U.S. capital. The queen started off with a trip to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in suburban Maryland, where she heard three astronauts describe their work aboard the international space station.
After hearing from the astronauts, the British monarch toured Goddard and helped plant a tree in the garden commemorating her visit.
Earlier, President Bush’s wife, Laura, joined the queen and her husband for a visit to Children’s National Medical Center, where the queen spoke to sick children, who were making cookies.
The royal couple were to fly back to England Tuesday night.
