Our main reason for heading north to Northern Virginia and Washington D.C.
this weekend was to attend a special funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.
If you've had a relative or friend buried here you will know just how
amazing, and captivating, a full military funeral is at this truly hallowed ground.
No names are necessary. Our dear friend was a highly decorated US Army officer,
and Bob's commanding officer during his tour of duty in Germany in the 1960's.
He later became a lifelong friend to us.
Funerals are never happy times and most I've attended always seem to be
damp, with both rain and tears!
This one was no different with a light shower.
Following the mass in the historic Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer, we
followed the somber beauty of the the Old Guard (3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment)
attending the horse-drawn caisson, a mile through the hills of the verdant cemetery
to the grave site.
attending the horse-drawn caisson, a mile through the hills of the verdant cemetery
to the grave site.
The US Army band played, the honor guard carried the flags, the gun salute
resounded across all those hundreds of thousands of white headstones,
and Taps was played in the mist on that green hillside.
I was impressed at the precision and meticulous turnout of the soldiers, men
and women who are here for us, serving this ever precious country.
At this celebration of life for a special man who will be greatly missed,
I was proud to be a naturalized American.
If you are interested in the history of Arlington National Cemetery in
whose 624 acres have been buried the dead of the nation's conflicts from even
before the Civil War, a total of over 400,000 brave men and women, you will find
this article most enlightening.
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