Which historic military sites have been the most memorable for you?

Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is something that I will always remember. It causes me to reflect on all the sacrifices that have been necessary over the years to preserve this republic and the world

My favorite spot, is West Point and Highland Falls New York. Not so much the center of the universe for The U.S. Army, full of history and just a beautiful spot (I think, this is leading up to a doorman joke!!) , but, any way, home to my childhood roll model T/Sergeant Martin Maher, it's not that I wanted to go to school at USMA, but I wanted to work there...doing Marty's job.

My favorite site is Pearl Harbor. I sailed into Pearl 5 times during the 80's and 90's on two different ships. It was always a moving and solemn event. My last duty station was Subase Pearl Harbor and my best friend had his retirement ceremony at the Pearl Harbor Memorial Center.

Definitely Gertysburg. I’ve been there three times. When you stand at places like Devil’s Den, Little Round Top and where Picket’s Charge was you can clearly see the tactical mistakes and nightmare it was. Kind of Fitting also since it’s the anniversary of the battle.

Hands down was Iwo Jima. Standing on the beach you wonder how in the hell anyone made it off there. Then hiking up Mt Surabachi. As a Marine it was one of the greatest honors to be asked if I’d like to go. They only allowed a few Marines on the island per year.

Pearl Harbor.

Cowpens, because my ancestor MAJ Joseph McJunkin played a noteworthy part in that "Jewel of the Revolution".

I really enjoyed visiting Bastogne Belgium during the holidays. Every year they do a reenactment of the battle of the bulge. Everybody dresses up in era appropriate uniforms, they drive around in WWII era vehicles, the Dutch parachute team even did a jump. The best part is they bring out the dudes from EZ Co. and treat them like the heroes they are. It made me really proud to be an American that day.

Many if not most veterans sense an aura at many battlefields, presumably because of the deaths and suffering that took place there. For me, the most memorable battlefields are the three where the auras were strongest:

GETTYSBURG: For me, the entire battlefield has that aura. Here is a Facebook photo album that I took on the 150th Anniversary of the battle, with one picture taken at the 20th Maine monument at Little Round Top, and the rest at the little-remembered East Cavalry Field where the 1st New Jersey Cavalry (now the 102nd Cavalry, New Jersey Army National Guard, my old unit) fought:
https://www.facebook.com/lyle.padilla/media_set?set=a [login to see] 0 [login to see] [login to see] 84459&type=3

The fight at Rummel Farm on what is now the East Cavalry Field is given little mention in the history books because it took place simultaneously with Pickett's Charge as a Union Cavalry rearguard action against Jeb Stuart's cavalry. Perhaps also because George Armstrong Custer and his Michigan Cavalry Brigade bore the brunt of the fighting and Custer has been declared persona non grata by politically correct revisionist historians.

ANTIETAM: The bloodiest one-day battle of the Civil War, whereas Gettysburg lasted three days. For me, the aura was the strongest at the Sunken Road, AKA Bloody Lane.

CORREGIDOR: I was born in Manila and lived there until I was almost eleven (my family got the hell out of Dodge when Ferdinand Marcos became President because they knew how corrupt he was). I visited Corregidor only once. The inside of the Malinta Tunnel, used as a hospital as well as General MacArthur's HQ, was where the aura was strongest. I was a very impressionable 7 or 8 year old at the time, so that was the first time I'd ever felt the aura and the only place other than Gettysburg and Antietam where I felt it as strongly.

Oddly enough, the entire city of Manila (including the neighborhood where my family lived) became a battlefield and was leveled in the fighting in February 1945. An estimated 100,000 to 200,000+ civilians were killed, the vast majority massacred by Japanese troops before the US troops even arrived and the fighting started, and yet growing up there I don't recall feeling the kind of aura anywhere in the city including my own neighborhood. I can only guess that the city being roughly the area and population of Philadelphia, the deaths were dispersed plus it resumed being a busy metropolis after it was rebuilt.

I was stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI so the Arizona memorial would be the most memorable historic military site I have been to and seen. It has a list of names of those who died onboard and still onboard to this day.

I had the opportunity to visit the Manila American Cemetery while working with JSOTF-P in the Philippines. It is every bit as stunning as Arlington. The number of unnamed graves there is a subtle reminder of how brutal the fighting was in the Pacific theater during WWII.