Let me first say this was far heavier than either of us expected. Walking through the visitor center and into the gorgeous hallowed grounds, being among the tens of thousands who have given their lives in the name of liberty and freedom, it was hard to hold back tears.
 |
In the distance, the Robert E. Lee Memorial.
The grave of JFK, RFK and the rest of the Kennedy's (not visible) is below it on that hillside. |
 |
| Just a handful of the thousands of men and women buried here. |
 |
The gates through which JFK's casket -- and so very many others -- were carried.
(Significant to us because we watched the procession on black and white TV way back in 1963.) |
 |
| Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers of WWII |
Consistent with so much of our Washington visit, we were disappointed to discover that the Eternal Flame at JFK's gravesite was under construction. So we didn't actually get to see his grave, but they did have an "interim" Eternal Flame.
One little "Easter Egg" for me (Jack) was this: I remembered that my birth mother, Janie Lou Edwards (nee Grogaard) had an older brother who had been a Captain in the Coast Guard. I checked the kiosk and found him. He was, in fact, buried at Arlington, so we went to pay our respects. It's a little ironic, yet altogether appropriate in my mind, that Andrew Grogaard was the only member of my mother's family who she had ever told about me.
 |
| Andrew, I salute you. Wish I'd known you. |
No comments:
Post a Comment