May 6th - Arlington National Cemetary

Memorial Drive, leading up to the entrance to Arlington National CemetaryThe first sight of all the rows and rows and rows and rows of white headstones, is very moving. Even though everyone has seen it many times on television and in movies, you still don't realize the immensity of the place until you are actually there!
There are, of course, many famous people buried in Arlington, not the least of which is the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, his wife Caroline and his two sons, baby Patrick (who only lived two days) and John, Jr., who was killed in the crash of his small airplane in 1999. The site is marked by an "Eternal Flame" at the request of Caroline Kennedy. Apparently, at first the flame was fueled by propane cylinders, but now is directly linked into a natural gas line. Across from the grave sites is a granite wall engraved with one of JFK's most famous phrases.
The Eternal Flame
The view from the granite wall at JFK's burial site....directly to the Washington Monument.Robert Kennedy is also buried in Arlington. His site is marked by a simple cross and gravestone, however, immediately adjacent is a small reflecting pond and a granite wall with quotations from some of his speeches. Apparently Robert Kennedy actually wished to be buried in Mass. but his family felt that as the brothers were so close in life, they should be close to each other in death. According to his wishes, however, his funeral was held in a very low key fashion, and he is the only person to have been buried in Arlington at night.
As I said before, there are many famous people buried here. Some of the ones that caught my attention were:
Audie Murphy
The most decorated American combat soldier of World War II. He received every decoration for valor that the US had to offer, plus 5 decorations presented to him by France and Belgium. Audie Murphy was born in Texas on June 10, 1924, to a family of poor sharecroppers. After the war, he moved to Hollywood to take up life as an actor. He was killed in an airplane accident when the private plane he was in crashed into the side of a mountain in Virginia during inclement weather. He was only 46 years old! There is an excellent website at http://www.audiemurphy.com/ which tells the full story of this incredible man.
"Pappy" Boyington
Mostly known because of the 1970's TV seried called "Baa Baa Black Sheep", starring Robert Conrad, Pappy Boyington was a World War II hero of quite a different stripe than Audi Murphy. It was interesting to google his name and read about this WWII flying ace. http://www.acepilots.com/usmc_boyington.html is a website with a very interesting account of his life.
Honoring the lives of 8 brave members of the US Armed Forces who died April 25th, 1980, during an attempt to rescue American hostages held in Iran. Again, an interesting story can be read at http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/iran-mission.htm

Two Space Shuttle disasters - The Challenger, January 28th, 1986, and the Columbia, February 1, 2003. These tombstones are erected in honor of the crew members who lost their lives in the Space Shuttle accidents.
There are only two Presidents buried in Arlington. John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft, the twenty-seventh President.
The Arlington Memorial Amphitheater
The Tomb of the Unknowns is part of the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater. The structure is built mostly of Imperial Danby marble from Vermont. Construction of the Amphitheater was approved on March 4th, 1913, and the cornerstone was laid on October 15th, 1915. It was completed in 1921.

At the rear of the structure, sits the Tomb of the Unknowns (also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier). Originally, the tomb held the remains of an Unknown Soldier of WWI (interred November 11, 1921). Subsequently, the remains of the Unknown Soldier of WWII and the Unknown Soldier of the Korean War (both interred on May 30, 1958) and the Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War (interred May 28, 1984) were added. In 1988, the remains of the Vietnam Unknown Soldier were disinterred and identified by use of DNA. The family claimed the remains and had him reinterred near their home in St. Louis, Missouri. As such, it has been determined that the crypt at the Tomb of the Unknowns that contained the remains of the Vietnam Unknown will remain empty. The Tomb of the Unknowns is perpetually guarded by the US Army, with the Changing of the Guard ceremony occurring every hour (or more frequently during the summer months when there are more tourists, and I would imagine hotter temperatures!!)
The Changing of the Guard Ceremony is filled with "Pomp and Circumstance", but is still very moving as you realize that it is not just those buried here that are being honored, but every soldier who will be buried here in the future. These young men take their job VERY seriously.
We spent several hours in the Cemetary. It is a very moving experience being here. The place has such a calm and dignity about it. But it is staggering to realize that there are somewhere around 300,000 men and women buried or honored in Arlington Cemetary, and many of them didn't even make it to 30 years old!