(One entrance to the cemetery, the building is the visitor's center)
(There is a whole building dedicated to women in the military)
(Graves of JFK, Jackie, their daughter Arabella who was stillborn, and Patrick who was only 2 days old when he died of Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome...something that is now completely curable with today's medicine)
(There was a wreath laying ceremony a few weeks ago at the cemetery)
(Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier)
(Tomb of the Unknown Soldier)
(Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier-There are lots of rules related to being chosen as a guard for the Tomb, it's a 2 year commitment, one of the highest enlisted honors there is, the first six months a soldier is stationed at the Tomb, they aren't allowed to speak, as they can only study. They are required to know all 175 notable people buried at the cemetery and the location of their internment, they must be between 5'10" and 6'2" tall and their waist must not exceed 30" around. They live in a barracks below the Tomb and the Tomb has been guarded continuously, 24/7 without break since 1930. The guard is not allowed to drink alcohol for the rest of their lives nor are they allowed to swear in public for the rest of their lives. If they fail to abide by those rules, they will lose their right to wear a wreath pin, which they are given at the end of their 2 year assignment. They take 21 steps as they cross in front of the Tomb, alluding to the 21-gun salute and they wait 21 seconds prior to walking back across. Their weapon is always carried on the shoulder away from the Tomb and the guards spend 5 hours a day preparing their uniforms for duty. Despite past orders to retreat to their barracks due to torrential weather, every guard has disobeyed the order and continued to guard the Tomb. There are currently only 400 living soldiers who have the honor of wearing the sacred wreath pin)
(Marble amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, even the benches are marble)
(Mast from the battleship USS Maine--It was sunk in the Havana Harbor off the coast of Cuba in 1898 precipitating the events of the Spanish-American War)
(Grave of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII)
(Grave of General Leonard Wood, Fort Leonard Wood is in Missouri)
(Earl Warren was a Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court)
(John Foster Dulles has Dulles Airport named after him)
(This is the Military Nurses Memorial)
(I thought this one was cool)
(Unknown remains from the fields of Bull Run and the Route to the Rappahannock)
(The Arlington House, previous estate of the Robert E. Lee family-It was handed down to Lee's wife who was the step grand-daughter of President George Washington. The home was seized by the US Government after Lee resigned his commission with the Union Army and joined the Confederacy. He was considered a traitor by many and just to spite him, the government buried 30 fallen soldiers in his wife's flower garden, starting what is now known as Arlington National Cemetery. William Christman was the first soldier to be buried in Arlington)
(The view of Washington, looking out from the terrace of the Arlington House. The Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Monument are all visible in the distance)
(The old amphitheater at the cemetery)
(Grave of former President William Howard Taft and his wife...huge plot and headstone for a huge President)
(Grave of Omar Bradley, he was the last surviving five-star commissioned officer of the United States and the first general to be selected Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
(Looking out across the cemetery. I didn't know that families could purchase their own headstone but there were quite a few-only saw them on the graves of higher ranking officers though)
So that's it for this post. More next time!
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