Arlington National Cemetery

I made my way out to Arlington National Cemetery last weekend, it was amazing. The first thing that I did when I got there was head to the visitor center to find out how to find a specific grave and where all of the other sites were located. The staff was extremely helpful and walked me through everything. It is really nice to see how they are moving into a more technology based system for finding graves. If the individual was buried there after 1999, they are in a system and you can look them up there and it prints you out details about the person you’re looking for, where they are located, and a map for a reference. As I walked through the endless rows of grave markers, it hits you how many heroes this country has. Thousands upon thousands of graves, each one providing a different story of a member of the military or their survivors, it can be overwhelming. I finally reached my uncles grave and admired and respected not only the grave, but the fact that preformed acts of heroism during his time conflicts of Korea and Vietnam. I walked from the grave to visit all of the other memorials and tributes throughout the cemetery. I saw sites for everything ranging from the confederate soldiers, to rough riders, to nurses, to those who died during the Battle of the Bulge, to those on the Columbia shuttle, and so on. I also made stops by the graves for the Kennedy's and JFK’s eternal flame. On the grounds is also another site that not many people give much credit to, the Arlington House. That house belonged to the famous General Robert E. Lee. He had lived there up until he made the decision to lead the Confederate Army. The house is currently being restored so that it can continue to be used in the future, but you are still able to walk through. It does have a really beautiful view of D.C. from the front porch though. The most amazing sight there was the Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers and the changing of the guards. The tradition alone is quite amazing, but to see it is really amazing. My final stop that day was to the Marine Corps Memorial. I was blown away when I reached it, it was gigantic. In my imagination it was always more life size, but I was dwarfed by this amazing tribute to the Marines. I recommend everyone check the cemetery out if they get a chance.

SRF