Exploring Arlington National Cemetery

I was in Washington, D.C. for a week. Val was attending a training course in the city and I was on vacation mode, fresh from boot camp. Some of the places I visited were about U.S. military history.

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It was a cold crisp day (yeah, I know, 40 ºF is spring for people in this part of the world... but where I come from, this temperature is winter C-O-L-D) when I arrived in Arlington. My feet were so sore because of all the walking I did previously (my Columbia winter boots have started showing evidence of worn soles) and then I still had to walk from the train station to the cemetery itself! 

I was so happy when I finally arrived at the gate. With my feet giving up on me and more walking to be done inside the cemetery, I opted to take the shuttle tour. 

(Frankly, I got intimidated by the sight of Arlington House on top of the hill beyond the Women's Memorial... I was not willing to walk all the way up there with my achy feet!)

The tour was definitely worth it because it was an opportunity to learn more about the cemetery and the activities going on while I was there. Without warning, it would have been an eerie trip for me because I kept hearing "Taps" being played (bugle) and the sound of cannons being fired; these were all part of military funerals. The tour guide said that there were 26 funerals scheduled on the day I visited so I was forewarned.

The tour brought us to several notable grave sites. One of them is where John F. Kennedy is buried. There's an eternal flame in the grave site. His wife, two children, and brothers were also buried in the area. A lot of people visit the Kennedy gravesite, indicating the longevity of the family's popularity. As far as I understand the country's history, he defined the USA's objective for the space race: to be the first to make a lunar landing. He also was assassinated in broad daylight. More importantly, his family is viewed as some sort of royalty; his presidency was likened to King Arthur's Camelot. 

By the Kennedy gravesite and all over the cemetery, signs of spring–like the blooming trees (magnolia hybrids and Japanese cherry trees)–have started to show. The trees haven't reached peak bloom when I visited but their flowers certainly gave a unique atmosphere to the cemetery; especially as they hovered over the lines of gravestones.

And speaking of gravestones...

In many of the photos of Arlington National Cemetery that I've seen prior to my trip, I've observed the uniformity of the gravesites in terms of markers and dimensions. But when I got inside, I quickly learned that as we go further into the cemetery, towards the first graves, the markers were more varied than I've expected.

For example, Major General Philip Kearny (a hero of four battles), is memorialised by a statue of a man on a horse on a pedestal. 

A few metres from the Kearny statue was a Civil War-era cannon. This was actually the grave marker for Major General Wallace F. Randolph, a US Civil War veteran. I found it to be the most unique gravesite because nobody else in the nearby area had a cannon as a grave marker. I just don't know why a cannon was chosen.

There were other prominent grave markers peppering this section of the cemetery; most of them date back to the Civil War. Because these are just across the street from Arlington House (which was Robert E. Lee's former house), perhaps the cemetery started there and eventually expanded to accommodate the other people now buried in the cemetery.

Closer to the visitor centre, the grave markers started to become more uniform. The only exceptions were the grave markers for presidents and memorials for notable people in US history (like those who died in the Space Shuttle explosions and in the Spanish-American War). What fascinated me while looking at the uniform gravestones is that every soldier buried here are equal. There may be inscriptions on their headstones pertaining to their military rank but they receive uniform markers; a symbol of brotherhood among soldiers, I guess.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of the biggest crowd drawers of the Arlington National Cemetery. However, a less known gravesite, but also befitting of honour, is found in a less visited area of the cemetery. This is the Civil War Unknowns Memorial. In that spot, more than 2000 unidentified soldiers were buried. My attention was drawn to it because it was a rather large sarcophagus whose lid resembled descriptions of the Ark of the Covenant. To me, this is what hallowed ground in the Arlington National Cemetery really means.

Arlington House was under repair during my visit, which is why I wasn't able to go inside. During the tour, I learned that the flag in front of the mansion is placed at half-staff 30 minutes before the first funeral of the day and raised 30 minutes after the last funeral of the day.

I remembered that the tour guide mentioned that JFK went on a visit to the cemetery a few days before he died. His was a beautiful sight of the cemetery during a solemn Armistice Day ceremony. I'm not sure where exactly he stood to watch the view but I suppose it's near the Arlington House. There, I found a good spot where I could see the George Washington Parkway going towards the Lincoln Memorial. 

I could also see the Capitol in the distance. Behind tree branches, I could get a glimpse of the Pentagon.

But more importantly, I saw a very tranquil view of the well-lined gravesites, the manicured lawns, and the trees that signalled a slower pace in life compared to the hustle and bustle of downtown D.C.

While at Arlington National Cemetery, I had the first-hand experience to see how important history and symbolism is to the U.S. This country takes pride in its heroes and goes out of its way to recognise and to immortalise the narratives of the soldiers, the civil servants, and notable figures it considers valiant. 

Of course, there is always another side of the coin. Not everyone agrees with the stories of greatness of the people buried in Arlington. I've heard some people say that this is history written by the victors, or that this is the story of Caucasians, or that other U.S. ethnicities are either under-represented or their narratives not as highlighted. I believe that seeing Arlington National Cemetery is a step towards understanding. Only by piecing together the different narratives and by not discounting the gallantry shown by those who participated in the various wars (no matter which side they took) can we see how the U.S. was born and how it became what it is today.