Behind the stone, bronze and steel war memorials that line Washington, D.C.’s walkways are the stories of millions of U.S. service members who answered the call to service.

While many of the names and faces behind those monuments have been forgotten over time, others were brought to the fore April 22 by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Center for Leadership for members of AUSA’s national staff during an “Inspiration to Lead” walking tour.

Organized and facilitated by AUSA’s Center for Leadership, the exercise provided ample time for reflection on the humanity behind the sacrifices of war, with stops and educational briefings at some of the city’s most prominent war memorials.

Cynthia Gertsen, senior program manager with the Center for Leadership and lead organizer of the April 22 event, said the exercise was designed to inspire AUSA staff members with lessons in leadership “and connect the stories of those soldiers to our work and how we can lead to accomplish AUSA’s mission.”

The walking tour began at the new World War I Memorial, which was dedicated in September, and continued at the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

At each stop, members of the Center for Leadership offered short descriptions of the monuments while emphasizing the humanity of war by telling selected stories of the men and women in uniform, the civilians who supported them and the families they left behind.

Retired Lt. Gen. Roger Schultz, former director of the Army National Guard and veteran of the Vietnam War, joined the tour as a guest speaker at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where he spoke emotionally of the toll of war and of the “courage and character” it takes for soldiers to go into battle.

Addressing the 72 staff members who participated in the educational tour, retired Gen. Bob Brown, AUSA’s president and CEO, reminded the group that “freedom isn’t free” and that America enjoys freedom because of the sacrifices made by the soldiers memorialized in the nation’s war monuments.

“You can look at war statistics, but they don’t tell the story,” Brown said. “When you see the monuments and realize all that was sacrificed by the people who went to war, it strikes you how fortunate we are to have our freedom.”

Pointing out that AUSA’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, is a stone’s throw from Washington’s war monuments, Brown noted that the memorials “are right near us, but we don’t always take time to pause and reflect on how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the world.”

Brown also pointed out that as AUSA approaches its 75th anniversary on July 5, the organization’s mission to support the U.S. Army is as strong as ever. “The whole reason we were formed is to help the U.S. Army ensure our freedom,” Brown said.