Our journey to our nation's capitol: Arlington National Cemetery

(By: Chip and Aubrey Schultz)

Location: State Highway 110 and Memorial Drive, Arlington, VA

Visiting Hours: 8:00am to 7:00pm

Cost: Free

Website: www.arlingtoncemetery.mil

Phone: (877) 907-8585

For the almost four million people who visit anually, Arlington National Cemetery represents many different things. For some, it is a chance to walk among headstones that chronicle American history. For many, it is an oppurtunity to remember and honor the nation's war heroes; and for others, it is a place to say a last farewell during funeral services for a family member or friend.

Arlington National Cemetery houses the remains of thousands of military veterans as well as national figures who sacrificed their lives during an American revolution. Arlington was established during the American Civil war on the grounds of the Arlington House. It covers 624 acres of land, and there are more than 300,000 people burried there. There are approximately 6,900 burials each year (28 funerals per day). Funerals are normally conducted five days a week, excluding weekends. Arlington has the second largest number of people buried in U.S. national cemetaries. Veterans from all our nation's wars are buried there, from the American Revolution to the War on Terror.
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(Chip Schultz)
The most recent section at Arlington is Section 60. This is where the most current burials are conducted, including men and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of these heroes, is my friend - retired Marine, Lt.Col. Tom Wall. I first saw Tom in 1998; he was the key-note speaker at Fairhaven Cemetery's Memorial Day program. As an attack helicopter pilot, he flew over 1000 combat missions in Vietnam, where he was shot down eight times. I was so impressed with him that the following year I cold-called him, introduced myself, invited him to dinner - and he accepted! I was in the early stages of creating an organization that honors America's military heroes so I asked Tom to be the guest speaker at one of my events. Not only did he agree, but he did so with out accepting a dime and told me he "would be honored to do so." He then came to two other events, each time capturing my audience with his natural abilities as a motivational speaker. I will be forever thankful for this man who mentored me and set a great example as a public speaker. Tom Wall was one of the classiest, most professional, dignified people I have ever met. He died of cancer on June 21, 2006.

On the outer edge of Arlington National Cemetery is a little-known monument and burial ground for 482 Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, a restful place with graves arranged in circles around a 32-foot-tall sculpture honoring the Confederate dead. It is said, that the pointed tops of the Confederate grave stones are intentional, so as not to allow any Yankee to sit upon them. The burial ground, approved by Congress in 1900, was meant to smooth over lingering bitterness between the North and the South. Although Confederate soldiers were buried at Arlington, their families were sometimes prevented from decorating their graves or even visiting the cemetery because it was considered a Union burial ground. On the North side of the Memorial is carved the inscription written by Dr. Randolph Harrison McKim, who went from the ranks of the Confederate Army into ministry. The inscription reads:

Not for fame or reward
Not for place or for rank
Not lured by ambition
Or goaded by necessity.
But in simple
Obedience to duty
As they understood it.
These men suffered all -
Sacrificed All -
Dared all - And Died.

When President John F. Kennedy visted Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day 1963, he commented to his friends on the serenety and beauty of Arlington, and the view of Washington D.C. from Arlington House, "I could stay here forever." Just fourteen days later, President Kennedy returned to Arlington in a casket. His gravesite, located just down the hill from Arlington House, is most recognized by the eternal flame above his headstone. He is buried alongside his wife, Jacquline, and their two infant children. The Kennedy grave is the most visited gravesite in America.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (or Tomb of the Unknowns) is one of the more popular sites at Arlington. It stands atop a hill overlooking Washington D.C. Sculpted into the east panel of the tomb, which faces Washington D.C., are three Greek figures representing peace, victory, and valor. The tomb holds the unidentified remains of three soldiers, one from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. An unidentified soldier from Vietnam was added in 1984, but his body was exhumed in 1998 and identified through DNA testing as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. Blassie's remains were returned to his family in Missouri. Today, the Vietnam crypt remains empty.
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The Old Guard, one of the oldest and most respected Infantry Regiments in the United States Army, has the awesome responsibility of guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, but also for escorting deceased Army servicemembers to their final rest in the "Gardens of Stone," as Arlington is sometimes called. The Old Guard also serves as the Army's Ceremonial Unit and, as an active and well-trained Infantry Regiment, is responsible for the protection of Washington, D.C.

Of the many requirments and promises one has to make to be accepted into the Old Guard, some that I thought were especially interesting are:

1. For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb they must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30 inches.

2. They must commit 2 years of their life to be a guard and live in a barracks under the tomb.

3. They cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

4. They cannot swear in public FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

5. For the first six months of duty, a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred.

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*The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been patrolled continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since 1930.

Of the notable Veterans buried at Arlington, perhaps none is more notable than Audie Leon Murphy. A fifth grade dropout from an extremely poor family (who weighed only 110 pounds and stood 5' 5" tall), Audie fought ferosiously during World War II. After the war he became a celebrated movie star for over two decades. He also found some success as a country music composer. Murphy became the most decorated United States soldier of World War II. He received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor, along with 32 additional U.S. and foreign medals and citations. Audie Murphy died in a 1971 plane crash. With full military honors, he was buried just across Memorial Drive from the Memorial Amphitheater. A special flagstone walkway has been constructed to accommodate the large number of people who stop to pay their respects to this true American hero. At the end of a row of graves, his tomb is marked by a simple government-issued tombstone which, as he was, is too small.

Below is the music video to one of my all-time favorite country songs, Arlington (by Trace Adkins). When I started researching Arlington National Cemetery, I immediately thought of this song. Listening to it makes me just that much more excited to walk along the graves of fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.