The Next Day by Richard Moylan Jr.
Posted: May 28th, 2005, 12:39 pm
It was April fifth, 1968, four-thirty in the morning. I was about to board a bus along with forty-five other fifth graders. We were about to embark on one of the most exciting field trips imaginable. We were going to washington DC. The anticipation on that bus was so intense that the teachers had a hard time controlling the noise. As we left Ocean View Elementary heading for the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, none of us had any idea just what we were headed for. Unknown to us, over night our destination had become as volatile as Vietnam. An angry race of people had started rioting in protest over the assassination of a great man, Martin Luther King Jr. To this day I think if the teachers had any idea as to what we were headed for they would have had that bus driver turn around and we would have returned to Ocean View.
The first stop of our field trip was Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. We were still unaware of what was taking place in DC. As we left Mt. Vernon and entered the DC area we started to notice not the sights but sirens. Everywhere we went in DC we could here sirens in the background. Several times during the day emergency vehicles would pass our bus. Luckily, most of us being eleven or twelve years old did not quite realize what was going on. I'm sure by now the teachers and driver had figured out what was going on because our tour schedule started changing. We ended up going to places not included on our tour. At the time we did not understand why the teachers were changing our tour schedule around. We just knew that for some reason we would be missing some of the more interesting sights. We saw The US Mint but missed The Smithsonian. Today I realize that the teachers were desperately trying to avoid the hot spots in DC.
By afternoon the sirens increased, the presence of smoke was noticable. We started seeing military vehicles with machine guns mounted. Even at age twelve I started to realize that something was wrong. The teachers casual conversations were replaced with silence and obvious concern. We started to realize that in the sixties when riots occurred busses were often targeted, turned over and set on fire. So there we were, right smack dab in the middle of the biggest riot to date and in a bus of all places.
We managed to see many sights in DC without mishap however when we arrived at The Capital Building we were hurried into and through the building and out the oppisate side and back onto the bus. We later learned that the rioting was just minute behind us and headded for the Capital Building. We left the capital and headed for Arlington. Arlington was not on our tour but at the time seemed like a safe option. We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As interesting as that was we could not help but be distracted by the pillers of smoke bellowing up from several fires down in DC. Arlington Cemetery is on a hill and from tht vantage point DC looked like a war zone.
Ironically enough, the last stop of our tour was the grave of another victim of assassination, John F. Kennedy. Only after returning home and seeing the news that night did I realize what went on and how close we came to harms way.
It's been thirty-seven years since that trip took a bus load of school children and teachers into the Twilight Zone. Only recently have I realized what went on that day in DC. Because of the media I have witnessed several riot situations one of which involved another King, Rodney. The news coverage of those riots caused me to become aware of how close we came to disaster. To this day I am still puzzled as to how we missed all the rioting that took place in DC on that faithful day. My thanks goes out to that resourceful bus driver who managed to avoid the mayhem that took place that day in Washington DC. And also to this day I am confused over the whole idea behind rioting. It hurts innocent people that have nothing to do with the reason for the riot in the first place.
The first stop of our field trip was Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. We were still unaware of what was taking place in DC. As we left Mt. Vernon and entered the DC area we started to notice not the sights but sirens. Everywhere we went in DC we could here sirens in the background. Several times during the day emergency vehicles would pass our bus. Luckily, most of us being eleven or twelve years old did not quite realize what was going on. I'm sure by now the teachers and driver had figured out what was going on because our tour schedule started changing. We ended up going to places not included on our tour. At the time we did not understand why the teachers were changing our tour schedule around. We just knew that for some reason we would be missing some of the more interesting sights. We saw The US Mint but missed The Smithsonian. Today I realize that the teachers were desperately trying to avoid the hot spots in DC.
By afternoon the sirens increased, the presence of smoke was noticable. We started seeing military vehicles with machine guns mounted. Even at age twelve I started to realize that something was wrong. The teachers casual conversations were replaced with silence and obvious concern. We started to realize that in the sixties when riots occurred busses were often targeted, turned over and set on fire. So there we were, right smack dab in the middle of the biggest riot to date and in a bus of all places.
We managed to see many sights in DC without mishap however when we arrived at The Capital Building we were hurried into and through the building and out the oppisate side and back onto the bus. We later learned that the rioting was just minute behind us and headded for the Capital Building. We left the capital and headed for Arlington. Arlington was not on our tour but at the time seemed like a safe option. We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As interesting as that was we could not help but be distracted by the pillers of smoke bellowing up from several fires down in DC. Arlington Cemetery is on a hill and from tht vantage point DC looked like a war zone.
Ironically enough, the last stop of our tour was the grave of another victim of assassination, John F. Kennedy. Only after returning home and seeing the news that night did I realize what went on and how close we came to harms way.
It's been thirty-seven years since that trip took a bus load of school children and teachers into the Twilight Zone. Only recently have I realized what went on that day in DC. Because of the media I have witnessed several riot situations one of which involved another King, Rodney. The news coverage of those riots caused me to become aware of how close we came to disaster. To this day I am still puzzled as to how we missed all the rioting that took place in DC on that faithful day. My thanks goes out to that resourceful bus driver who managed to avoid the mayhem that took place that day in Washington DC. And also to this day I am confused over the whole idea behind rioting. It hurts innocent people that have nothing to do with the reason for the riot in the first place.