Visit to the Commandant's Home

The EWS Student Spouses were invited to take a tour of General Amos and Mrs. Amos's home.  He is the 35th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.  The home is located on the corner of 8th Street and "I" Street in downtown Washington, D.C.  Some of you may have heard about the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team.  The "backyard-as us rednecks would call it" (courtyard) of the home is where they perform during the summer. Mrs. Amos began the tour by greeting us in the formal sitting room.  The home has 11 BATHROOMS and is over 5,000sqft!  Can you imagine having to clean all those toilets....sheeesh!  I will try and explain more about the tour with each picture.

I should go ahead and mention this disclaimer.  The pictures are less than good, especially compared to Adam's awesome photo skills.  I basically kept the camera on "auto" the whole time. So bare with me...

The entrance to the home.  There is always armed Marines standing guard at all times.

Mrs. Amos giving her welcoming remarks.  She is also telling the story of why we aren't able to tour the 2nd and 3rd floors.  The short story:  The 3rd story bathroom flooded into the 2nd story (Her Dress Closet). 

This is an original Tiffany Lamp.  In fact, it is rumored to cost over half a MILLION dollars!  Last spring, DC had an earthquake. (Yes we definitely felt it on base too...it was crazy!) During the earthquake there was no one in the home except for 2 of the General's aides.  One aide ran to the doorway and stood there...which is the standard procedure.  (I had forgotten this from elementary school...it was a good reminder next time the EARTH is shaking under my feet. LOL!)  The 2nd aide ran to the lamp!  That is how expensive and unique it is.

This is the previous commandant.  There are portraits of every commandant hanging in the home, well except for one.  There was one commandant that served only 8 months because he didn't represent the Marine Corps very well.  Lets just say, he was a wild child!  After losing his position in the Corps, they erased all photos of him.  In fact, it is unknown where he was even buried!  Back to those that DO get a portrait...The Generals get to choose which uniform they wear, the location, and what they will be holding or doing in the portrait.  A lot of them chose to display their medals and honors by selecting the dress blue uniform.  However, General Conway chose to wear this overcoat.  It seems to me that he purposely hid his medals.  In my opinion, this just emphasizes that Marines don't make the sacrifices in order to receive the accolades.  They do it for our freedom and that's enough for them!

 

It was an open concept tour.  These guys did a great job being available for questions as we meandered around the home.

The Formal Dining Room

This painting was done by a famous artist (forgot his name.)  It was given to the Amos'.  This painter even has a room named after him in the house.

The Pantry...Yep I said PANTRY!

The Kitchen

A quick photo after asking Mrs. Amos if she ever gets to come down stairs in the morning in her PJ's and get a cup of coffee.  She unfortunately said NO.  There are constantly people in the home.

The Elevator...mainly used to deliver food.

This commandant was the only one to choose and be allowed to have a bible in his portrait. 

Signing the guest list

The patio furniture

The mystery picture.  It was located in several places within the home.  Not sure the significance.  But thought it was interesting...

This is the Original copy of the Marine's Hymn

The "backyard"...Ha!  The parade deck for the Silent Drill Team

Saying "Thank You" to Mrs. Amos for opening up her home to us.  It was the first time EWS Student Spouses were allowed to tour the home.

The Crew