This week our neighbours to the south celebrated Memorial Day. That is different than the holiday they celebrate in November which is Veterans day. (The day we celebrate Remembrance Day in Canada).
There is a difference in the two days. Memorial Day is to honour all military personnel who perished while serving in the US Armed Forces and Veterans Day is to honour military personnel who have served in the US Armed Forces. It is celebrated to mark the end of World War I which formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918,
A visit to Washington isn’t complete without a stop to Arlington National Cemetery. It is 624 acres of hallowed ground. It the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families.
The rolling grounds are divided into sections. Rows and rows of gravestones and markers. They conduct between 27 and 30 services each weekday and 6 to 8 each weekend day.
Most visitors choose to take the Old Town Trolley which is a hop on hop off tour of the grounds. That was the option we opted for.
It is a 60 minute guided tour if you choose to stay on and listen to the history while being shown the highlighted areas. You can also choose to disembark, visit an area and embark on another trolley.
The tour, as I mentioned, is guided and gives a wonderful history of the cemetery and points out stories about heroes and dignitaries along the route. There are many memorials here as well just a few of them are: Spanish American War Memorial, Civil War Unknown Monument, Vietnam War Memorial Tree, Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia Memorials, 911 and Pentagon Memorials are some.
It is the final resting place of President John F Kennedy and his beloved family – Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, their two children, Edward Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and a marker for Joseph who was killed in a secret mission in World War II. On November 11, 1961 President Kennedy was at the cemetary placing a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Solider and after he toured General Lee’s home on the grounds, it is said that was heard to say “I could spend forever here”. A short time later, that came to be true.
After visiting the Kennedy site we boarded the trolley and continued listening to the tour and stayed on until we got to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and the changing of the honour guard. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in any weather by Tomb Guard sentinels. Sentinels, all volunteers, are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), headquartered at Fort Myer, Virginia.
During the summer months the changing of the guard happens once every half hour, in other times it is once an hour. It is a space of the utmost respect and honour. There are hundreds of people standing and watching and not a sound could be heard. The sound of the soldiers boots meeting the marble slabs as they methodically take their precisely calculated steps back and forth guarding the tomb.
The Tomb of the Unknown Solider includes the remains of unknown service members from World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
The visitors are asked to remain standing and silent during the changing of the guard. I was poised and ready to film the process and as it started I stopped recording and was taken into the moment with my heart and soul. It was the best decision I could have made. Be present.
The Tomb Guard marches 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process. If you look closely you can actually see worn paths on the marble as this process is repeated over and over again, as I mentioned 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
We watched the end of one ceremony and then waited for the start of the next one since they were taking place every half an hour and the ceremony itself takes almost 10 minutes.
We left the area to catch the final shuttle of the day. It was quiet throughout the crowd and I felt what I think most people around felt – reflective and grateful. The whole experience was one of gratitude. Cemeteries are scared spaces. They are the final resting place of people who were loved and in this space, brave souls that paid the highest price for all of us to live the life we are able to have.
Arlington National Cemetery you are a national treasure. Thank you.
The Stamps in my Passport 